DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

Taiwan launches cross-agency school drug prevention drive, targets 9,641 hotspots

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Taiwan’s Education Ministry and other agencies launched a new school drug-prevention campaign as schools reopened.
  • Authorities identified 9,641 risk hotspots around 3,602 schools and will increase patrols while expanding in-school drug education.
  • Education Minister Cheng Ying-yao urged schools, families and communities to help young people resist drugs disguised in electronic-cigarette cartridges.

Taiwan has opened the new school year with a cross-agency campaign aimed at keeping emerging drugs away from students. Education Minister Cheng Ying-yao said authorities are particularly concerned about substances such as etomidate, which can be disguised in electronic-cigarette cartridges and promoted through online groups and peer pressure.

The campaign divides prevention into three areas: blocking drugs outside schools, teaching students to identify them inside schools, and strengthening prevention at home. Representatives from the Interior Ministry, police, Justice Ministry and Health and Welfare Ministry joined education officials at a news conference, along with school principals, teachers’ groups and parent representatives.

Keeping young people away from cigarettes and drugs is an important promise the government makes to parents.

— Cheng Ying-yaoTaiwan’s education minister described the government’s responsibility to families.

Authorities have assessed 9,641 risk hotspots around Taiwan’s 3,602 elementary, junior high and high schools. Police and community forces will increase patrols around school grounds and other locations considered risky. Cheng said the patrols are intended to identify risks in the surrounding environment early, not to monitor or punish students.

Principals’ leadership is important, and cooperation between teachers and parents is even more important.

— Cheng Ying-yaoCheng stressed the role of schools and families in prevention.

The ministry said that, by August, anti-drug education had reached 43,202 classes in upper elementary grades, junior high schools and high schools. It aims to reach every such class by the end of the year. Etomidate also features in this year’s Friendly Campus Week campaign, which tells students not to use, try or conceal the drug and to seek help.

The Education Ministry also plans to continue its annual partnership with Paper Windmill Arts and Educational Foundation, staging 100 anti-drug plays in schools each year and adding 15 specialized etomidate-prevention performances in the second half of the year. Cheng urged parents to respond without scolding, interrogation or labels, saying trust grows through listening and companionship. “Keeping young people away from cigarettes and drugs is an important promise the government makes to parents,” he said.

Helping them get through this setback in life will give them a better future.

— Cheng Ying-yaoCheng called for coordinated support when young people face difficulties.
About this summary

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog