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
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