The Taiwan Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation yesterday urged people to stop using mental illness as a shorthand for inappropriate behavior, as controversy continues around a journalist’s imitation of a physically disabled rights lawyer on a talk show.
The term “crazy” or “mentally ill” (shenjingbing, 神經病) is often used in Taiwan to describe inappropriate or dangerous behavior, while negative stereotypes persist about mentally disabled people, the association said in a statement.
This stigma makes people afraid to seek help when needed, it said, adding that there is no shortage of labeling, while there is a shortage of people who are willing to tear down such labels.
Photo: Screengrab from YouTube
The association made the comments after entertainer Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) said he filmed an episode for the talk show The Night Night Show with Hello (賀瓏夜夜秀) and told the show production team that it was unacceptable to ridicule physically challenged people.
“You could find a normal person to play someone mentally ill [then poke fun at them], but you can’t get a mentally ill person to play a mentally ill person,” he said.
The show came under fire last week after its guest, Chinese journalist Wang Zhian (王志安), imitated Chen Chun-han (陳俊翰), a human rights lawyer and legislator-at-large candidate with spinal muscular atrophy, who spoke at a Democratic Progressive Party rally.
Wu’s comment seems to be an appeal in support of physically challenged people, but in reality is just smearing mentally challenged people, the association said.
The People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act (身心障礙者權益保障法) and the Mental Health Act (精神衛生法) ban media from using discriminatory language that leads people to judge those with disabilities, while guidelines were set forth in 2014 for the media representation of people with mental illness, it said.
The law forms the baseline for what is morally acceptable, but comedy likewise needs a baseline, it said.
Comedians must consider the effect their words might have on others, since their comments — even if they are “just a joke” — have a life beyond the moment, potentially undoing years of hard work by people trying to destigmatize some groups of people, it said.
“This is why the ethical standards are high, nothing else,” it added.
When society continues to use such labels to denigrate others, it is clear that the government needs to invest more in education and raise awareness, the association said, calling on media personalities and influencers to do their homework on offensive language, and for consumers to avoid those who peddle discrimination.
Separately, Hello (賀瓏), host of the Night Night Show with Hello, on Sunday offered an apology for a having a guest who mimicked a disabled politician on the show, saying that the guest’s behavior was wrong and promising to fully review oversight of the program.
What Wang said and how he acted during the show were not prearranged jokes provided by the production team, Hello said, while clarifying that the views and opinions expressed on the program are those of the speakers and do not reflect those of the show and its staff.
However, mimicking the movement and speech of a disabled person was “absolutely inappropriate,” he acknowledged, saying that he should have stopped Wang at the time.
The production team apologized to Chen on Wednesday last week and it appreciates Chen’s willingness to let bygones be bygones, Hello said.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as