(Jan. 18, 2016)
We, HSVG mission, noticed from the news that South Korea's JYP Entertainment had TWICE member Tzuyu CHOU, aged 16 only, apologize for holding a flag of Taiwan, where she is originally from, after causing boycotts from China. In the apology video JYP Entertainment released at YouTube, Tzuyu CHOU looked extremely tired and somber. We highly suspect that this case is related to teen abuse, or, more precisely, emotional abuse. We have asked JYP Entertainment to correct its inappropriate supervision on Tzuyu CHOU and provide Tzuyu CHOU with adequate care of mental health immediately.
We have also sent messages to Mr. Minister Chin-youb CHUNG of South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare requesting the Ministry monitor if JYP Entertainment takes any improvement action on Tzuyu CHOU case and investigate the health and welfare status of Tzuyu CHOU from 2012 to the present since she started the training with JYP Entertainemnt when she was 13.
A message sent to Mr. Minister Been-huang CHIANG of Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare requests the Minitry collaborate with its South Korea's counterpart to ensure JYP Entertainment's improvement actions and take good care of Tzuyu CHOU's emotional needs. In addition, we also remind Taiwan to investigate if Tzuyu CHOU's parents are violating Taiwan's child & teen welfare laws because we learn that she left Taiwan and started JYP Entertainemnt's training in South Korea when she was 13 only.
Emotional abuse is the emotional maltreatment of a child/teen, causing severe and adverse effects on child's/teen's emotional development. Examples of emotional abuse include: conveying to a child/teen that they are valued only when they meet the needs of another person; not giving the child/teen opportunities to express their views; interactions beyond a child's/teen's developmental capability. Researches show emotionally abused and neglected teens did express more internalizing features, such as being withdrawn, anxious, depressed, angry, experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms, or sexual concerns than teens who had not maltreated. And they were three times more likely to express suicide ideation than teens at risk of other types of abuse or neglect.
