Corporal punishment in Taiwan
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Corporal punishment is currently banned in the penal and education systems of the Republic of China (Taiwan), even though there are no laws banning its use in the home.
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[edit] Education system
"The State should protect students’ rights to learning, to education, to their physical integrity and their human dignity, and should protect them from any form of corporal punishment, which constitutes a physical and psychological violation." Article 8 of the Fundamental Law of Education (since December 2006)[1] |
Corporal punishment in the education system was banned in December 2006 through an amendment to the country's Fundamental Law of Education[2], with the ban coming into force in January 2007. The prohibition applies to all educational institutions, including public and private schools and kindergartens, universities and all types of “cram” schools.[1]
The amendment followed years of campaigning by child rights organizations such as the Humanistic Education Foundation, as well as the government's commitment in August 2005 of working towards the elimination of all corporal punishment in public education.[1] Contributing to the amendment was also a public debate generated by corporal punishment case in October 2005 which attracted widespread media attention. The case involved a teacher repeatedly hitting a student with a wooden stick on the hands and backside for failing to hand in homework.[3]
The amendment banning corporate punishment had the support of President Chen Shui-bian and Prime Minister Frank Hsieh and was passed by a wide margin in the Legislative Yuan. Guan Bi-ling, a legislator from the Democratic Progressive Party declared that,
“ | Corporal punishment has been a cultural practice in Taiwan. But we believe schools and homes are the most important environment for kids to grow up and we need to eliminate this practice... Many countries worldwide have banned corporal punishment in schools by law - including [the People's Republic of] China. We think Taiwan is an advanced country, and we shouldn't trail behind.[3] | ” |
Corporal punishment in Taiwanese schools had been banned even before the legal amendment of 2006, although this had taken the form of a government regulation rather than a formal law.
[edit] Prevalence
Before the legal ban, corporate punishment had been widespread in Taiwanese educational institutions, with the government regulation against corporal punishment being largely ignored. The Humanistic Education Foundation has conducted a yearly poll which seeks to ascertain the extent of percentage of students affected by corporal punishment in Taiwanese schools. The results indicate that, while a majority of students continue to be subject to corporal punishment, its use is slowly declining:
1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2004 | 2005 |
---|---|---|---|---|
83.4% | 74.2% | 70.9% | 69.4% | 65.1% |
Source: Humanistic Education Foundation |
A 2004 poll also found that corporal punishment was performed in 93.5% of schools.[4]
Despite being illegal since January 2007, a nationwide survey conducted in April and May 2007 found that 52.8% of students reported receiving corporal punishment, lower than in previous years but still constituting a majority. It appears, however, that the ban has brought about a change in the types of corporal punishment administered. Physical beatings or spankings of students declined from 51% in 2005 to 27.3% in 2007, accompanied by a rise in indirect forms of physical punishment, such as being forced to stand up for an extended period of time, which increased from 9.7% in 2005 to 35% in 2007.[1]
[edit] Penal system
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Corporal punishment is illegal as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e Taiwan Progress Report, Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, June 2007
- ^ Taiwan corporal punishment banned, BBC News, 29 December 2006
- ^ a b Caroline Gluck, Taiwan caning sparks heated debate, BBC News, 26 October 2005
- ^ Spanking goes on in schools despite law, The China Post, 2 April 2004
[edit] See also
- Human rights in the Republic of China[[Category:Youth rights]