President-elect Tsai Ing-wen says her administration will focus on preventing drug use and promoting mental health.
Tsai was speaking Wednesday at a presentation on preventing drug abuse and random killings. That’s in the wake of the brutal slaying of a 4-year old girl at a Taipei metro station on Monday. The suspected attacker reportedly had a history of drug abuse and mental health concerns.
Tsai said that every child has the right to grow up safely and protecting this right is an important responsibility of the government. She said her administration would work to prevent related crimes. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Ruan Jhao-syong says the party will support the network of police, social workers, and health professionals to help them deal with high risk people. He said the party will also look to other countries to gain insight into maintaining security.
Tsai said that many violent crimes are related to drugs. She said there is a need to not only to adjust punishments for drug users but to work on treating addicts. She said that national security forces also need to crack down on those selling and dealing drugs.
Tsai said that the number of people with mental illnesses in Taiwan is on the rise. She said the government needs to support communities in providing services to such people. Tsai also said that laws and resources needed to be reviewed so that parents and their children can live without fear.