TCI Fellow Wang Shiou-Wu, Taiwan Mad Alliance, shares his journey from surviving coercive psychiatric care as a teenager to becoming a leading advocate for persons with psychosocial disabilities. As the founder of Taiwan’s first OPD led by persons with psychosocial disabilities, Wang has worked tirelessly to ensure that directly affected people are at the center of decisions that shape their lives.
From building communities of peer support to promoting alternative approaches to crisis care, Wang’s work demonstrates that lived experience is not just valuable, it is expertise. His advocacy challenges stigma, pushes for meaningful participation in policy and law reform, and highlights the importance of international solidarity for grassroots human rights defenders.
Wang’s story is a powerful reminder that real change comes when people who are directly affected are given the voice, space, and resources to lead. It is a call to recognize the expertise of lived realities, resist exclusion, and create inclusive systems where everyone truly belongs.
