The China Post
Datew: November 9, 2016
By: Joseph Yeh
Taiwan’s overseas consular offices have reported a spike in expatriates with mental health issues in
This file photo from 2014 shows a crowd outside the Asakusa Temple in Tokyo, Japan, a popular destination for Taiwanese tourists. ( Photo courtesy of Cheng Chih-Hung)
need of assistance, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, urging people to not let their family members with mental illnesses travel abroad alone.
Citing official statistics, Roger Luo (羅添宏), deputy director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Bureau of Consular Affairs, said that Taiwanese abroad seeking assistance from local governments with regard to mental or psychiatric disorders had reached 53 cases so far in 2016.
This number represents a significant increase in comparison with those of the past five years, in which no more than 33 similar cases were reported annually between 2010 to 2015, he added.
He disclosed that most of these cases happened in Japan and said a possible reason was that Japan was the No.1 travel destination for Taiwanese. [FULL STORY]
