Mental health neglected
In response to the editorial on May 2, while I applaud the focus on the need of Taiwanese society to recognize and report sexual assault and abuse, I feel that there was a complete denial of mental-health issues.
I recognize that the family of the victim have stated that depression was not the issue, that the previous abuse suffered by the deceased created a demon inside of her that led to her death. Yet, how else could one describe depression if not as an inner demon?
It appears to me as if the shame of mental-health issues is once again being swept under the rug due to the nature of Asian society and the refusal to acknowledge any form of mental difficulties.
So many tragedies have occurred in recent years in Taiwan due to the complete lack of services for those suffering mental issues. From the horrible death of a child in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), to the MRT sword attack, the assailants were noted to have suffered from phychiatric issues.
And yet, rather than properly fund community and state projects that could have identified and possibly prevented these attacks, the state instead spends its sparse resources on a criminal justice system that still employs the archaic use of the death penalty — a system that possibly would not be needed if these crimes were prevented.
Would it not better serve Taiwanese society to stop stigmatizing mental-health issues? To have a system in place that offers assistance to young people suffering from depression? A system that allows people to access help if they recognize they have an issue?
Unfortunately, such changes take time. They also require a societal change of opinion regarding such problems.
However, Taiwan would not be the first nation to fundamentally change how it looks at and reacts to mental health issues. Ten years ago Ireland was the country with the highest suicide rate among young people in western Europe. Like in Taiwan, the issue was swept under the rug and attempts to discuss possible issues were considered taboo.
A lot has changed. Thanks to celebrities coming forward and talking about their own struggles with mental-health issues, ordinary citizens have felt more able to do the same. It is no longer taboo in Ireland to say you are depressed, to voice your suicidal tendencies, to admit a problem.
However, this has been but half the solution. The other half is the state support offered through counselling and other medical means.
Taiwanese suffer from all mental-health issues the same as every other nation. Until the nation recognizes this, and creates as effective a strategy as possible, then it risks losing even more of its bright young population needlessly.
Michael McKinney
Taipei
Admit Taiwan to WHA
There are no logical reasons to exclude Taiwan from membership of the World Health Assembly (WHA).
The WHA is a world organization and should not be controlled by China or any other countries in regard to Taiwan’s admission.
Taiwanese need health information as much as the rest of the people in the world.
Taiwan can contribute useful health information more than many other countries, possibly including China, which has blocked Taiwan from entering the WHA.
The WHA should be impartial and universal.
Charles Hong
Columbus, Ohio
On Sept. 3 in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rolled out a parade of new weapons in PLA service that threaten Taiwan — some of that Taiwan is addressing with added and new military investments and some of which it cannot, having to rely on the initiative of allies like the United States. The CCP’s goal of replacing US leadership on the global stage was advanced by the military parade, but also by China hosting in Tianjin an August 31-Sept. 1 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which since 2001 has specialized
In an article published by the Harvard Kennedy School, renowned historian of modern China Rana Mitter used a structured question-and-answer format to deepen the understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and China. Mitter highlights the differences between the repressive and authoritarian People’s Republic of China and the vibrant democracy that exists in Taiwan, saying that Taiwan and China “have had an interconnected relationship that has been both close and contentious at times.” However, his description of the history — before and after 1945 — contains significant flaws. First, he writes that “Taiwan was always broadly regarded by the imperial dynasties of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will stop at nothing to weaken Taiwan’s sovereignty, going as far as to create complete falsehoods. That the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never ruled Taiwan is an objective fact. To refute this, Beijing has tried to assert “jurisdiction” over Taiwan, pointing to its military exercises around the nation as “proof.” That is an outright lie: If the PRC had jurisdiction over Taiwan, it could simply have issued decrees. Instead, it needs to perform a show of force around the nation to demonstrate its fantasy. Its actions prove the exact opposite of its assertions. A
A large part of the discourse about Taiwan as a sovereign, independent nation has centered on conventions of international law and international agreements between outside powers — such as between the US, UK, Russia, the Republic of China (ROC) and Japan at the end of World War II, and between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since recognition of the PRC as the sole representative of China at the UN. Internationally, the narrative on the PRC and Taiwan has changed considerably since the days of the first term of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic
RSS