New Power Party Urges Action on Taichung Toddler Abuse Death; Ministry Develops New Training Materials

(Central News Agency, reporter Zeng Yining, Taipei, June 8) In response to the death of a 2-year-old girl from abuse in Taichung City, the New Power Party (NPP) on Sunday called on the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) to clearly establish a mandatory cross-county and city transfer mechanism and to strengthen the ability of frontline police and social welfare workers to identify suspicious injuries on young children. The MOHW responded that it is developing training materials on severe child abuse cases to enhance worker sensitivity.

Regarding the recent case in Taichung where a 2-year-old girl, referred to as "Xuanxuan," was severely abused and killed by her mother's live-in boyfriend, the NPP issued a press release stating that behind the heartbreaking violence lies a serious failure of the current cross-county child abuse reporting and risk identification mechanisms. It urged the MOHW and local governments to learn from this tragedy and not allow the principle of "one lead agency, multiple collaborators" to ultimately become a tragedy of "no one taking responsibility."

NPP Chairperson Wang Wan-yu pointed out that this is not the first case where unclear cross-county responsibility and insufficient handover mechanisms have led to missed opportunities to protect children. While local governments may believe they have acted "according to regulations," the design flaws in the system have led to the innocent death of a child in a high-risk situation.

To repair the systemic flaws, Wang suggested that the MOHW should seize the opportunity of the upcoming amendment to the "Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act" to clearly define a mandatory cross-county transfer mechanism and cross-jurisdictional coordination norms. This would ensure seamless home visits when a case moves, with the location of the incident taking primary responsibility. Second, she called for revising the criteria for frontline risk identification, enabling police and social welfare systems to take more cautious action when faced with unexplained injuries on young children.

Chang Ching-lun, Deputy Director of the Department of Protective Services at the MOHW, told CNA on Sunday that regarding the cross-jurisdictional referral of child protection cases, the Ministry has already established guidelines such as the "Principles for the Centralized Screening and Case Assignment Mechanism of Municipal and County (City) Governments" and "Cross-Jurisdictional Child Protection Responsibility Division and Cooperation Processing." He stated that existing operational regulations for cross-jurisdictional cases are sufficient and there is no need to incorporate them into the law at this time.

Regarding the assessment of risk factors for abused children, Chang explained that since 2020, the Ministry has commissioned Professor Chen Yu-wen from the Department of Social Work at National Taiwan University to implement the "Child Protection Risk Early Warning Model Update Project." This project has summarized and established key risk factors. Currently, the Ministry is also developing training materials on severe child abuse cases to enhance the sensitivity and identification capabilities of frontline workers.

Regarding this specific case, Chang said it is still under review. A central-level review meeting is scheduled for July, at which time the Taichung City and Tainan City governments will be asked to report their findings. After understanding which links need strengthening, the Ministry will address systemic and structural improvements in a single, strategic effort. (Editor: Su Lung-chi) 1150608