I lived here a while. This is quite rare, esp. a woman, in a store but more common around some areas of Taipei. While some posters highlight medical issues, they may be right. But I suspect that it is alcohol addiction that may be the issue at heart.
Addiction takes away ones dignity, ones self-respect, and eventually ones ability to function in society. Most people do not drink the rice wine she’s drinking. It’s for cooking rice wine chicken. Added salt is to prevent people drinking it due to tax laws. Unfortunately, people do still drink it as a cheap form of self-obliteration.
There was a guy at our metro stop, in suburban Taipei who was in a similar situation very, very often (daily?). Lots of people tried to help him, including the local hospital (I saw him carried away in an ambulance at least once), the local lizhang (village mayor) tried to help, charities, police, even the social welfare dept, and others have been involved… but I suspect the alcohol has taken him so far away that it’s difficult for him to return. As one poster mentioned, alcoholism leads to all sorts of attendant issues: physical incapacity, mental illness, poverty, lack of work and homelessness. Once the cycle starts it can be hard to arrest as each layer adds another barrier to recovery, foments hopelessness, and increases dependence.
If you need addiction counselling, please can someone post some useful numbers. If in doubt, contact the community services center in Tianmu. They have an emergency line: For urgent after-hours crisis line (from 5 PM to 9 AM) call 0932-594-578. I post this in English, because over the time I’ve been here, I’ve also come across more than a few alcoholics in the English-speaking community who needed help. Are there other numbers to post?
Thanks to the OP for asking: They’re genuinely wondering what they should do in this situation or should have done. I honestly don’t know. But since people were more familiar with the situation and were keeping an eye on her… perhaps it wasn’t as terrible as first thought. Still shocking to see. No easy answers.
Should we not post social issues that confront us? Should we not discuss the things that we face? The OP was sensitive to the issue, but genuinely confused by the situation and very aware of the potential seriousness.
Perhaps in other countries being passed out on the floor in a convenience store is something that shouldn’t be remarked on because drunkeness is so common that it is a mere embarrassment to the individual. I don’t think that’s the case here in Taiwan. Here people see the issues and wonder what can be done, if anything.