Given the comprehensive media coverage of the calamitous earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province, psychiatrists yesterday recommended that victims of the 921 earthquake in Taiwan avoid watching the scenes of devastation repeatedly played out on TV to avoid suffering post-trauma syndrome.
After the earthquake hit Sichuan on Monday, reports have emerged of victims and rescuers in the Sept. 21, 1999, earthquake in Taiwan — which killed more than 2,000 people — crying and saying they experience great pain whenever they watch or read about news on the fatal quake in China.
trauma
Lin Ben-tang (林本堂), a psychiatrist at Taichung Veterans General Hospital, said some quake victims and rescuers who suffered trauma during the quake have not yet fully recovered.
If they watch or read the news of the quake in China, it may even trigger post-trauma syndrome, Lin said.
George Chen (陳喬琪), former president of the Taiwanese Society of Psychiatry, said local media outlets should stop running non-stop reports on the quake in China to minimize the impact on Taiwanese quake victims and rescuers.
memories
Samuel Yang (楊紹民), a psychiatrist in Taichung City, echoed Chen’s view, saying that memories of a disaster are often buried deep in a victim’s mind, and that such news coverage could awaken old memories.
He suggested that quake victims and rescuers who are uncomfortable with such news to seek professional help immediately.
“This is the best time to cure their trauma syndrome once and for all,” Yang said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS