Travelogue

Taiwan

Social Issues of Taiwan - Our Personal Perspective

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In the four workshops which I conducted we were presented over 70 different case studies from the various participants. The universality and commonality of human problems was pronounced in the discussions about the various problem cases. Our perspective of the social issues came from the great discussions with the workshop participants during and in between the sessions.

Sally Chang was the reader and Robert Chang was the translator during all of my four workshops. They worked very hard and long. Not only had Robert translated the 9 Tools for Coping Series Books but he also translated all of the workshop handouts, readings, and overhead slides. They were very helpful in assisting us understand what the social issues where which the participants were presenting in our Case Studies portions of our program.

There is a social system in this country which consists of the highest class being those who are economic leaders and wealthy, next comes the educated professionals and next the educated middle class workers. The next group are the technologically trained workers. The next are the blue collar workers who consist of all those who did not pass the test to get into high school and who did not do well in a technology high school. Most of this class consists of the native Taiwanese.

The workshop in Taichung was attended by a mix of people, including pastors, professional counselors and lay people. This workshop was most useful to open our eyes to the universality of the human condition. I realize very quickly that the Taiwanese resonated very well with the concepts I presented in the Tools for Coping Series.

The economy of the county is controlled by the elite upper class group of people and the commerce in the major cities we visited seemed to pander to the rich. The Department Stores we visited were filled of designer clothes etc. It appeared that these palaces of commerce focused solely on the upper 15% of the nation’s people. The common folk have money and places to live but less disposable cash and smaller places to live. The common folk apartments would consist of one bedroom, kitchen and living room and house their entire families. Three rooms was the standard for those of average to meager means.

The Workshop in Taipei was filled with a large number of well trained mental health professionals. This workshop gave us the clearest picture of the realities of the class levels and the intensity of family problems in the urban centers of Taiwan.

The Taipei participants were very motivated and were able to handle our meeting being placed in the lobby of this very large office building in the middle of the city. We spent a great deal of time focused on how to deal with addictions in family life situations in this setting. We gave the larger lobby audience food for thought this day.

It appeared to us that close to75% of the country inhabitants were crowded into small apartments and were more prone to shop at street stalls and open air and night markets. It appears that there is always a way to get around.

The Pastoral Workshop in Tainan was the richest source of insight into the stressors which church leaders face dealing with the array of social stressors which their flock present to them. They were open enough to share that they suffered from much of the same dysfunctional family histories, stressors, and concerns of their church members.

If the family had little or no means they could use public transit, buses and (metro in Taipei) or use bicycles or motor scooters. The others would use cars or scooters. Taxi’s were reasonable and plentiful in the city.

The workshop participants in Kaohsiung were made up of both government social services workers and counselors from various counseling centers in the city. By the fourth workshop we were able to role play counseling with the various issues which confront the participant's clients. It was this final workshop which convinced us that all people no matter where they come from can benefit from help in learning how to cope with life's stressors so as to grow in personal self-esteem and good mental health.

These were the social problems in Taiwan which we encountered through the feedback of the participants in my four and Connie's three workshops as well as by our personal observations:

They have the highest divorce rate in the Orient. Marital infidelity is quite high. Sexual addiction is also high.
Suicide is very prevalent and we saw evidence of the precautions taken nationally to reduce the rate of suicide. All buildings which had atriums had a safety to prevent people from jumping to their deaths inside these buildings.
There is an inordinate number of deaths of young men in the military annually
There is an inordinate number of deaths due to auto and motor scooter accidents. It is estimated that 2000 people die annually in motor scooter accidents alone
Physical abuse is very prevalent. We were given an estimate that 13 cases of physical abuse are reported daily in Taipei alone.
There is an inordinate number of their folk religion's traditional beliefs which hinder people with mental illness getting help. The families often believe that their relative is possessed by the evil spirit and that the only way to cure this person is to exorcise this evil one. People can go for years unrecognized and untreated for Bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia or psychotic episodes.
Drug abuse is very high. The drug of choice however is a bean which acts like speed. It is sold all over the country in roadside glass encased stalls which are manned by very provocatively clad young ladies who look like call girls. This is a legal drug and the claim is that long distance drivers are the main people who purchase these bean. However, it does not explain why we saw these provocative establishments in every city, on almost all major streets of the city. It appears there is more to these than what we were told. We were told these establishments are a public shame in Taiwan.
Alcohol abuse is very rampant. There are bars all over the place. The KTV’s and Casinos all serve alcohol. The legal age for drinking in Taiwan was 21, but it was clear that children had access to alcohol both at home and on the streets.
The more educated, upper class, economically successful and motivated Taiwanese families spoil their children, doing much of the self-help tasks for their children such as tying shoes, dressing and bathing. It is not unheard of for a first grader not to know how to do this on their own. Parents push their children to study and learn from an early age and will do whatever it takes for their children to excel in school.
Due to this over protective and spoiling nature of parenting in Taiwan, children are pushed to be competitive in the school system and as a result do not seem to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest while in the school system. They are pushed both at home and at school to produce. They are given conditional love and acceptance both at home and in the school system. As adults then they are more prone to feel not good enough about themselves. Many adults have chronic depression, which results in a high suicide rate.
There is a brain drain in Taiwan many of the more educated professionals (doctors, lawyers, business people) leave the country to avoid the eventual Chinese Government regime. Most Taiwanese are not worried but those who have the most to lose seem to be leaving. The brain drain is a trickle but still is substantial given the educational level of those who migrate out.
Materialism runs rampant in Taiwan. The accumulation of things and wealth motivates the educated and professionals. There appears to be little volunteerism to share ones blessings with the less advantaged. From our observations it appeared that the haves shun the have nots. There does not seem to be any desire for social parity or equality. The economic system is what rules and all people must obey and follow the rules. There appears to be little questioning of the “status quo” and as a result there is a sense of catching up with the success and wealth of the western nations by the powers to be. It felt like Taipei was home to inordinately wealthy people who had nothing better to do with their money than indulge on themselves in clothing, jewelry, housing, food, drink and other worldly pleasures. The airports were crowded with travelers all over the country. There is a lot of trip taking and vacationing on the island and abroad.

We believe, that counselors, social workers, psychologists, mental health and social service agency personnel, pastors, lay religious leaders, and other helping professionals would benefit from continuing education and training in:

How to help people in Taiwan from just being survivors to being pro-activators of their lives so that they are, living one day at a time, reasonably enjoying their lives more, and living their lives to the fullest,
How to help people in Taiwan to rid themselves of unhealthy anger to lighten up their chronic depression and despondency.
The twelve step philosophy, contained in our book Self-Esteem Seekers Anonymous, so that their counseling services focus more on the spiritual truths of reliance on one's Higher Power and less reliance on one's own ability to control and fix all aspects of one's life which are out of control.
Directive, rational, confrontational strategies with clients to assist them to better understand how they are locked into unhealthy, irrational belief systems which have resulted in dysfunctional habits and behaviors resulting in unhealthy lifestyles.
Advocacy strategies for community change, which are effective in calling attention to the social, emotional, and developmentally unhealthy procedures and processes in the community which perpetuate community wide depression, despondency, and chronic low self-esteem amongst all the people in the community.
Development of a Multidisciplinary Team Approach amongst all Helper Groups in Taiwan so that there is a collaborative, cooperative, and sustained group effort nationally to improve the mental, emotional and physical health of all people in Taiwan.
How to incorporate religious and spiritual concepts into the helping process to bring the redemptive message of hope and trust to people, who, for too long, have not been able to possess either.
How to design, implement and maintain pro-active programs of primary prevention for the social, emotional, mental and spiritual health of the people of Taiwan.

Coping.org is a Public Service of James J. Messina, Ph.D. & Constance M. Messina, Ph.D., Email: jjmess@tampabay.rr.com ©1999-2007 James J. Messina, Ph.D. & Constance Messina, Ph.D. Note: Original materials on this site may be reproduced for your personal, educational, or noncommercial use as long as you credit the authors and website.