CW: This article contains descriptions of child abuse.
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) has been getting a lot of heat recently because of how her government handled a child abuse scandal that occurred last year.
While the nursery school where the abuse took place is currently not operating, many are infuriated with how poorly the investigation seemed to go. They are also upset by the fact that the center was only fined NT$60,000, quite a small sum when looking at the horrific abuse.
The allegations are that those running the school violently abused the young children there, both physically and mentally. According to reports staff routinely gagged students with rags, hung children upside-down, dropped children, beating them on the head, and locking them in closets as punishment.
Along with the paltry fine, many are also incensed over the seemingly botched investigation. Recently it was revealed that the government failed to adequately copy video camera footage from the location. Thus losing vital evidence for the prosecution. Thankfully it seems that investigators have recently obtained this evidence in spite of this apparent misstep by the local government.
Claire Wang (王婉諭) has been one of the loudest critics around this scandal. She has stated that the fine is not enough and while the school is shut down, it did so of its own volition and could reopen at anytime. She also called on the central government to oversee such cases in the future to avoid the mistakes that were seen in the Taichung case.