My son bullies others, campaign supporter abuses child... Lai Rui-long: Zero tolerance for child abuse

A series of child and youth controversies have erupted in the Kaohsiung mayoral election. On the 12th, KMT legislators revealed that a female individual, identified as the head of Lai Rui-long's early childhood education support group, allegedly engaged in 16 instances of improper discipline at her kindergarten in 2020. These included binding children's hands with tape and calling it 'Doraemon's hands,' prohibiting children from using the restroom leading to accidents, forcing them to sleep standing up, and verbal humiliation. The kindergarten was subsequently banned from admitting new students for one year. Lai Rui-long's campaign office stated, 'Zero tolerance for child abuse,' and that the individual has resigned. The KMT criticized the campaign office for quickly deleting joint photos, calling it a failure in personnel vetting. The controversy also brought to light the campus bullying incident involving Lai Rui-long's 8-year-old son last December. He was accused of blocking a female classmate in the restroom for 12 minutes and threatening her, saying, 'If you dare to come out, I'll kill you.' At least three students were reportedly victimized. Lai Rui-long apologized tearfully twice, and later signed a mediation agreement with the girl's parents, jointly defining the incident as a 'conflict between children, not a bullying case,' which concluded the legal proceedings. However, a friend of the victim's family criticized that the settlement does not mean bullying didn't occur, and the family felt 'betrayed.' The victim's mother also stated that the settlement does not mean the harm didn't happen. Now, from his own son to his campaign supporter, Lai Rui-long's 'zero tolerance for child abuse' has been repeatedly compromised. Legislators questioned whether parents could feel safe with such a list of associates. While the incident has seemingly concluded, the hurt and doubts remain. If even his son's bullying can be 'downplayed and dismissed,' I think his chances of winning the mayoral election are still high, even if inappropriate people are found in his campaign team. After all, it feels like the majority of Kaohsiung voters who support the green party don't really care about the individual.🙄