TAIPEI: A Taiwan lobby group is calling on government and society at large to give single fathers a break.

The Single Parents Association noted that the government extends assistance to single mothers, but offers nothing to help single fathers.

"Single fathers must earn a salary and raise kids. Currently government support for single parents is given to women's groups. So if single fathers want to seek help, they must turn to women's groups and that hurts men's dignity," said the group's leader Chu Chien-feng.

Chu then cited a grim statistic to underscore the pressure on single parents.

"According to the Taipei Department of Health, among every 100 suicides in Taipei in 2005, 80 percent were single parents and 54 percent were single fathers," he said

Rui Chi and Lao Niao, both single fathers, said lack of support for single fathers amounts to gender discrimination by the government and society.

August 8 is Father's Day in Taiwan. The date was chosen because the Mandarin word "ba", meaning eight, sounds the same as "father".

Agencies

(HK Edition 08/06/2009 page2)