To be fair, the phenomenon described here can be seen in many other countries (for example, Hong Kong, Australia, Korea, Japan, etc). However, in Taiwan, Apple Daily seems to devote more space to covering the subject.Apple Daily is a lurid Hong Kong paper that seems almost anti-Taiwan in its quest to portray every negative aspect of Taiwanese society. It reminds of the way Soviet newspapers would focus on US problems.
Our own experience is that such punishments are very common. My daughter has been hit once, by a substitute, whom we quietly had removed the next day. We have seen many nasty punishments, though. At the school where I used to teach in southern Taiwan all of the classes were hit, to the point that the students would flinch if the teacher extended a hand. In Taiwan things are slowly changing (my mantra recently!). The Humanistic Education Foundation (Chinese page) works with students and parents to curb corporal punishments in the schools.
Why is it necessary to hit students? Conjecture for another blog....
I saw a documentary at the Taipei Film Fest that reminded me of this post: 九命人 (Twilight Zon9), directed by 吳米森. It explores corporeal punishment in Taiwanese schools through a series of interviews and anecdotes, though no actual footage of punishments are shown. Keep your eyes open for it, as it could be of interest to you. It definitely prompted a lot of discussion during the Q&A.
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