Pandemic ‘prison’ no joke
The thoughtless comments by Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) are yet one more indication that the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking various levels of havoc around the world, including here in the US (“Councilor apologizes for ‘prison’ comments,” June 19, page 3).
Thankfully, there are enough government and business leaders who “get it” and are ensuring that their public (and hopefully private) comments encourage their constituents to keep a stiff upper lip and soldier through the (again, “hopefully”) temporary inconveniences of quarantining, wearing masks, getting vaccinations and so on.
As a public relations professional now teaching future generations of PR and other communication pros the “fine art” of expressing opinions and wishes in such a way as to encourage acceptance and cooperation, it especially concerns me when I witness elected officials making thoughtless, uncaring comments regarding events that are having an effect on the public.
Let’s hope that Councilor Miao fully understands this and is more careful in future.
Kirk Hazlett,
Adjunct professor, communication/PR
University of Tampa,
Florida
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