Health officials yesterday expressed concern over the heightened emotional state of protesters outside the Presidential Office, stressing that short-term political objectives should not be pursued at the cost of health.
"Emotions are contagious, and the more heightened the emotion, the more contagious it is. Maybe a crowd has very simple requests to begin with, but in a mob situation, it can be very hard to control people," said Vivian Yeh (葉雅馨), a mental health section chief at the John Tung Foundation and chief editor of the magazine Health for All.
Lee Ming-been (
"If the leadership does not consider the needs of the crowd, then they are just politicians and nothing more. It's like if doctors do not express concern for their patients, then they are numb to the situation," Lee said.
Lee was speaking at a Department of Health press conference held just after local media reported that a 79-year-old Hualien woman had been admitted to hospital after a heart attack apparently induced by watching days of live TV broadcasts of post-election protests.
According to family members, she had been agitated about the pan-blue camp's protest demanding a vote recount. Local media labeled her the first victim of the post-election turmoil.
Lee yesterday discussed several health difficulties that often went unnoticed after an election.
"While `post-election stress syndrome' is not a medical term, elections can bring on a collection of syndromes," Lee said.
"The pressure brought about by elections is not always based on a single factor. In addition to election results, many face feelings of threat or uncertainty. For example, some might worry about economic change," Lee said.
"For patients with diabetes, high blood pressure and insomnia, for example, symptoms may worsen due to changes brought about by elections. Stress can determine when a person falls ill," he said.
Lee stressed the importance of taking a break from emotional agitation. He said it would be useful for the crowds outside the Presidential Office to stretch and breathe slowly every once in a while.
However, Yeh pointed out that in a mob situation, leaders played an important role in the shaping the crowd's emotional condition.
"It's difficult in a mob situation for the crowd to rethink its initial intentions in taking action. It is important to treat all people with respect no matter what your ultimate goal is. This entails persuasion on the part of the leader. The leader's personal emotional management can affect that of the crowd," Yeh said.
Lee said that disasters impact people biologically, psychologically and socially.
"Disasters such as the earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999, the SARS outbreak and political turmoil have forced us to rethink social interaction and learn from it. Above all, there needs to be a basic level of respect," Lee said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
Taiwan next year plans to launch its first nationwide census on elderly people living independently to identify the estimated 700,000 seniors to strengthen community-based healthcare and long-term care services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said on the sidelines of a healthcare seminar that the nation’s rapidly aging population and declining birthrate have made the issue of elderly people living alone increasingly pressing. The survey, to be jointly conducted by the MOHW and the Ministry of the Interior, aims to establish baseline data and better allocate care resources, he
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