Media Representations of People with Mental/ Physical Impairments in Taiwan

The level of awareness and acceptance towards people with mental/ physical impairments in Taiwan are still far from perfect but are beginning to see the better side, said Yvette Wang, the director of facility service of Syin-lu Social Welfare Foundation.

One good example could be seen on how Taiwan High-Speed Rail provides accessibility services to allow passengers in a wheelchair to easily and comfortably have access to seats on trains, she added.

However, in the perspective of media representations, there are still major improvements to be done in order to portray them positively and let the public understand them better, said Wang, after sharing several local news representations of people with autism in the media.

The sharing session ended with students sharing their real-life experiences with people with disabilities and the strategies they adopt to have a quality association.

"We have to be more sensitive and open-minded because disabilities sometimes exist in ways that are not visible or obvious to our bare eyes", Wang asserted.

Pic 1. Yvette Wang shared insights on her hands-on experiences in Syin-lu Social Welfare Foundation

Pic 2. Group photo with Prof. Chia-Hsin Yeh and IMICS students

Visual Designer: Fedrik Hansen - 吳停勝 / IMICS 108

Author: Fedrik Hansen - 吳停勝 /IMICS 108