Mental Health Action Alliance convener Chang Chueh (張玨) yesterday voiced disappointment that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) is not among the mayor and county commissioner candidates who have pledged to address the issue of mental health if elected.
Chang made the remarks at a Taipei news conference held to release the names of 15 candidates who signed a pledge sent by the alliance on Nov. 2 asking them to swear to support and promote mental health.
The pledge was sent to 55 candidates, 23 who represent the KMT, 17 in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and 15 independents.
“About 29 percent of the DPP’s candidates signed the pledge, compared with 27 percent of independent candidates and 26 percent of KMT candidates,” she said.
When asked to comment on Lien’s failure to reply to the document given that he had suffered a traumatic event — being shot in the face at close range at a campaign event in 2010 — Chang Chueh said she was disappointed because she had hoped to see his name on the list.
“However, it is worth noting that the alliance does not have many channels to contact Lien or his campaign staff, but we plan to keep trying to ascertain his stance on the issue,” she said.
She also singled out New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) of the KMT.
“Chu’s campaign staff repeatedly pressured the alliance to give it the names of candidates who had signed the pledge, saying they had to see the list before the mayor could decide whether to sign,” she said.
The alliance rejected the request and Chu did not respond to the pledge, she said.
“Public health involves both physical health and mental health. The alliance expects these mayor or commissioner hopefuls to not only endeavor to combat illnesses, but also to set up mental health committees dedicated to improving the mental health of the public once elected,” Chang said, adding that the alliance would hold those who signed to their promises.
Taiwan Public Health Association director-general Lee Yue-chune (李玉春) said the pledge was designed to raise public awareness of the importance of mental health, which plays a major a role in many kinds of social problems, such as violent crime.
“Prevention is better than cure. If the government devoted its efforts to detecting and addressing mental health issues before they led to tragic events, perhaps horrifying events such as a husband killing his wife in a jealous rage or a boyfriend murdering his girlfriend because he suspected she was cheating on him could be prevented,” Lee said.
“Among those on the list are independent Taipei mayoral candidates Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Chen Yung-chang (陳永昌), Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) of the KMT, Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) of the DPP, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) of the DPP and her KMT challenger Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興),” Chang said.
“New Taipei City and Taoyuan County are the only two of the six current and future special municipalities where no candidate responded to the pledge,” Chang added.
Also on the list are independent Hsinchu City mayoral candidate Tsai Jen-chien (蔡仁堅), independent Hsinchu County Commissioner Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金), DPP Changhua County commissioner candidate Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷), Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠), and Taitung County Commissioner Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪), she said.
Keelung mayoral candidate Hsieh Li-kung (謝立功), Chiayi City mayoral candidate Chen Yi-chen (陳以真), Nantou County commissioner candidate Lin Ming-cheng (林明溱) and Yilan County commissioner candidate Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞), all of the KMT, are also on the list, Chang Chueh said.
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