The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has officially been implemented in Taiwan. President Ma Ying-jeou made the announcement on Thursday while receiving children from different ethnic groups across Taiwan.
"This is an important milestone in the development of children’s welfare" said Ma. "On Universal Children's Day, I’m honored to announce that the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child starts today," he said.
President Ma said although Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, the legislature passed an act to adopt the treaty into domestic law.
Ma also pledged to address the problem of child abuse in the country. He said in 2013, there were more than 16,000 reported cases of child abuse. Ma said although that was lower than the number of cases reported in 2012, the level is still too high.