The nation's vigorous young democracy is proving a little too vibrant for some. Wild mood swings, lost voices, and bad backs have all accompanied the presidential election campaign -- and that is just the supporters.
Psychiatrist couches have been filled by a new wave of activists with "election mania disorder" who have become a little too active in the campaign ahead of Saturday's poll.
"He would go on and on about the election campaign, trying to convince me to vote for his candidate, no matter how much I tried to change the subject," said Adventist Hospital psychiatrist Hsu Cheng-tien about one patient.
The man, diagnosed with the disorder that includes mood swings, anxiety attacks and insomnia among the symptoms, left his job to concentrate on attending rallies and spent NT$300,000 (US$9,000) on campaign souvenirs, said Hsu.
He said the patient had been offended by his red tie -- which he claimed symbolized the Chinese Communist Party -- until Hsu pointed out other colors running through it.
The appearances of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) at lavishly-funded rallies represent the climax of hours of song, dance and speeches, accompanied by klaxons of the hundreds of thousands of flag-waving supporters.
Hospitals have reported a sharp rise in muscle strains and other complaints owing to over-exuberance among the huge crowds that have gathered throughout the country.
Wu Chia-che, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Taipei's Wan-Fang Hospital, said he had seen a 30 percent increase in numbers of patients who had lost their voices or who had ringing in the ears in the past month.
One patient had been to see the doctor three times in a month after damaging his throat shouting too loudly at campaign rallies.
Wu ordered him to rest his voice for at least a week but the patient insisted he could bear the pain for a few more weeks.
"The patient begged me to increase his medicine dosage and promised to rest as soon as the elections are over," Wu said.
Families have become divided over support for rival camps. Reports have included one man who refused to visit his father-in-law because he said he would be forced to watch a television channel backing the KMT camp.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)