At a time where Taiwanese prisons are overpacked with people serving drug-related sentences, a newer, more tolerant approach is gaining popularity.

The News Lens
Date: 2016/06/21
By: Hélène Belaunde

In March, Yahoo News Taiwan posted a piece titled “Man suspected of consuming hallucinogenic

誌。Photo Credit : AP/達志影像

drugs slaughters a little girl: the drug addiction time bomb is on the verge of explosion” (疑吸毒幻覺殘殺女童 毒癮未爆彈瀕臨引爆點). The article referred to the gruesome murder of a four-year-old who was beheaded in front of her mother. According to the police, the man who conducted the act had a history of mental illness and had been previously treated in a psychiatric hospital. Rumor has it he was also a drug addict, although this has yet to be confirmed. The murder sparked outrage and intense discussions around two controversial issues: the death penalty and Taiwan’s drug problem.

The author of the article paints a sinister picture of the situation, stating that Taiwan’s drug problem is “spiraling out of control” and that drug users have become a “time bomb” that could detonate at any moment, destroying society. His tone is clearly accusatory: according to him, neither the government nor the people are paying enough attention to the issue.     [FULL  STORY]