The Transitional Justice Commission has said that it would establish a psychotherapy center for survivors of political repression as part of a pilot program.
Although martial law was lifted more than three decades ago, the need to provide psychotherapy to people suffering psychological trauma caused by political repression has remained unaddressed, the commission said.
Many survivors, their families, as well as family members of political victims, still suffer from psychological stresses caused by traumatic memories, it said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The commission said it has asked the National Property Administration for space in a government building that could be turned into a psychotherapy center dedicated to treating people with mental trauma caused by political repression.
The commission’s leading officials have met with Taiwan 228 Incident Care Association director-general Pan Hsin-hsing (潘信行) and 228 Memorial Foundation director Lin Li-tsai (林黎彩) to promote the program.
Family members of political victims were pleased with the plan and urged the commission to follow it through, the commission said.
“Efforts to make psychotherapy available to people suffering from trauma related to political repression is one of the commission’s key tasks,” commission deputy chairman Chang Tien-chin (張天欽) said.
While the commission has yet to announce a date for the opening of the center, it expects to provide treatment to 3,000 to 5,000 people, including survivors of political repression, their families and family members of political repression victims, as well as guilt-ridden perpetrators, he said.
There are examples in other countries in which perpetrators suffer from long-term sleeping disorders due to feelings of guilt, a commission member said.
The nation should have an independent psychotherapy center exclusively dedicated to people traumatized by political repression, rather than offering such services at local hospitals and clinics, the commission said.
Professionals at the center would contact survivors of political repression, their families and family members of political victims by telephone to inquire if they need therapy, and encourage them to seek help for any trauma-related conditions, it said.
In Germany, where similar services are available, patients first see a psychiatrist, who makes a diagnosis and decides whether to transfer the patient to a therapist, said a commission member who declined to be named.
The commission is still planning the program and has yet to decide whether to adopt procedures similar to Germany’s, they said.
After the pilot program’s conclusion, the commission would establish a policy for a long-term psychotherapy program to allow the Ministry of Health and Welfare to take over, they added.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary