A child protection failure has left at least 140 minors victimized in recent years. The Garden of Hope Foundation announced this finding at a news conference today. Ten major cases of sexual violence occurred in kindergartens, schools, cram schools, and clinics. One Taichung baseball team case involved 53 victims. Another Taipei kindergarten case affected 46 girls aged two to five. Eight of the ten cases came from parents’ reports, not official channels. Only one victim directly contacted authorities.
This child protection failure shares common factors across cases. Foundation CEO Wang Yue-hao identified closed environments, unequal power dynamics, and lack of oversight. Children could not seek help due to these barriers. Perpetrators exploited positions of authority for long periods. The foundation and lawmakers Fan Yun and Lin Yueh-chin demanded reforms. They called for special permits to work with children and a cloud monitoring system.
Legislators Lin and Fan are advancing amendments to address this child protection failure. The amendments would introduce a permit to work with children. They would also integrate background checks and oversight systems. Taipei City Councilor Hung Chien-yi called for cloud-based surveillance. Childcare facilities would back up footage for 90 days. Many cases had broken cameras or overwritten footage previously.
