The Ministry of Health and Welfare is on course to establish 154 social welfare centers by next year to expand child protection services, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Su Li-chung (蘇麗瓊) said.
The ministry yesterday opened a two-day workshop on community violence prevention and the social safety net in Taipei for social welfare organizations, social workers, medical practitioners and police.
Su, who hosted the workshop, said that the Social Safety Net Reinforcement Project, approved in February last year, aims to establish 154 social welfare centers, recruit up to 3,021 social workers between last year and next year, and create a family-centered and community-based support system to help at-risk families and children, she said.
Local governments are already helping to reinforce the social safety net, but public participation from local communities is still needed, Su said.
People should not only report suspected cases, but also watch over each other and reach out to those in need, she added.
Changhua Department of Social Affairs official Hsu Fang-yu (許芳瑜) said that the “conventional mindset of not airing your dirty laundry in public” still affects victims of domestic violence.
Most cases do not get reported until they come to the attention of police, hospitals, social departments or schools, Hsu said.
The department in 2015 formed a community empowerment team of academics, specialists and social workers that put theory into practice, she said, adding that it formed community watch teams.
Male team members invited men from households where disputes were reported to drink tea and chat, so they could understand their thoughts and help them relieve stress, she said, adding that female members supported the women.
Reports of domestic violence by the general public have increased, showing that people are more aware of violence and are willing to take action, Hsu said.
The ministry urged people to call the government’s 113 national hotline with suspicions of domestic violence, sexual assault, negligence or abuse.
Taiwanese barista Xie Yi-chen (謝溢宸) recently triumphed at the 2024 World Coffee Championships, taking home 1st place in the World Latte Art category. Xie, 28, impressed the judges in the final round with patterns of a whale, a moose, and a dragon in the three-day competition that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark from June 27-29, clinching the title of latte art world champion during his first time representing Taiwan on the world stage. At a press conference held by the Taiwan Coffee Association on Thursday, Xie said that creating latte art gives him a tremendous feeling of achievement. Speaking about his entries in
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
TRAVEL CONVENIENCE: The program is to shorten wait times while passing through airport checks and would start for Taiwanese from January next year Japan is to launch a new program to expedite entry procedures for Taiwanese starting from January next year. The Japanese government is planning to introduce new rules to shorten the time it takes foreign travelers to pass through immigration, thereby attracting more tourists to visit, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday. An airport preclearance program would be implemented to allow foreign travelers to finish some screenings at their departure airport’s terminals and undergo simple confirmation procedures upon arrival, it said. The program would initially be applied to travelers from Taiwan from January next year and could be extended to travelers from elsewhere depending
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final