China News Service, Taipei, February 5 (Xinhua) A Taiwanese foundation announced on the 5th that according to statistics, excluding categories such as child abuse and sexual assault, there were 234 news reports on children's accidents in Taiwan in 2023, resulting in the deaths of 38 children under the age of 14 and 581 Injuries, collective poisoning incidents and traffic accidents caused by food safety are the main reasons.
According to reports from Taiwanese media such as Central News Agency, United News Network, and China Times News Network, Taiwan Jingjuan Children's Safety Cultural and Educational Foundation (hereinafter referred to as "Jingjuan Foundation") held a press conference on the 5th to announce the above data.
Data show that in terms of accident types, there were three mass poisoning incidents of nutritious lunches in Taiwan in 2023, affecting more than 200 children; followed by traffic accidents causing child casualties, the number of cases was 79, resulting in a total of 133 child casualties. Among them, the number of child casualties caused by electric-assisted bicycles is increasing year by year, resulting in a total of 111 child casualties in 2023.
Hualien County middle school teacher Wang Jinmao pointed out that about 20% of middle school students in Taiwan use electric-assisted bicycles as a means of transportation, especially in remote areas with underdeveloped transportation. However, due to the lack of education and training on the use of electric-assisted bicycles, children and teenagers have a weak sense of danger, and there are no dedicated bicycle lanes in remote areas. Students can only ride in general lanes mixed with other vehicles.
Xu Yalong, CEO of the Jingjuan Foundation, called on the authorities to strengthen traffic safety publicity and expand dedicated lanes or shared lanes for pedestrians and vehicles to provide a relatively safe road traffic environment. Parents and teachers should also strengthen road traffic safety education for children, including the abilities they should have when using transportation, risks on the road, etc. (over)