Professor of Clinical Psychology at National Taiwan University (NTU) Wu Yin-chang (吳英璋) announced yesterday that Taiwan's suicide rate was on the rise, especially for people between the ages of 20 and 34.
According to the Department of Health's records, in Taiwan, successful suicide attempts committed by people between the ages of 20 and 34 has risen from 22 suicides per hundred thousand in 1994 to 37 last year.
Wu also expressed that it has long been understood that students entering the eighth grade are especially likely to develop suicidal tendencies. However, Wu indicated that his research shows that in recent years, students entering the fifth grade are also a high risk group.
He attributed the recent increase of suicide attempts in younger students to early maturation and ideas presented by the media that cause confusion.
Wu commented that increased suicide rates is a worldwide phenomenon. He cited globalization trends, population pressure and the decrease of the family's function in society as possible reasons for the global increase in suicide.
"As quickly as the world is changing, Taiwan's pace may be even faster than other nations," Wu said.
Wu also pointed to an increased amount of time spent online each day, saying "Human relationships seem to be thinner these days."
Wu predicted that as suicide rates increase in the 20 to 34 age group, suicide rates among younger individuals may also begin to increase in a domino effect. He emphasized that it is vital that preventive measures focusing on those under 20 be taken now, pointing out that suicide prevention is easier with younger children.
Wu further stressed that for people under the age of 20, parents and teachers are the primary figures in prevention. He set forth a chart that divides the behavior of children into three categories depending on the likelihood of a suicide attempt.
The three most important questions to ask are whether suicide plans have been made, whether suicide has ever been attempted, and whether there have been major changes in one's daily routine.
Students in the low risk category have no suicide plans, have never attempted suicide, and have relative stability in their lives. Wu urged parents and teachers who noticed the warning signs of depression in their children to express their concern and communicate an appropriate understanding of the value of life and the meaning of death.
The moderate risk category includes students who have considered suicide, have previously attempted suicide or have begun to abuse drugs or have demonstrated other types of masochistic behavior. Wu stated that parents and teachers should seek the help of a school guidance counselor or therapist.
Those who have concrete suicide plans, have seriously attempted suicide in the past or have consistently exhibit self-destructive behavior are in Wu's high risk category. He suggested that parents and teachers seek a psychologist or psychiatrist immediately.
He will compile a suicide prevention handbook to distribute throughout Taiwan's schools. Wu gave his presentation as part of a lecture series organized by NTU to celebrate its 75th anniversary.
Suicide moved up into the ranks of the 10 top causes of death in Taiwan in 1997. Sociologists attribute the rise to job pressure, recession and lack of support systems. There was a spike in the suicide rate following the 921 earthquake.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching