In 2016, the number of suicide cases among school children attracted attention from all walks of life, and the Government set up a Committee to Prevent Student Suicide. After many years, the number of cases of child suicide has risen again. Yip Siu-fai, director of the Centre for Suicide Prevention at the University of Hong Kong, said in a radio program today (11th) that compared with the situation in 2016, the magnitude and depth of the situation this time are more serious. He explained that according to the suicide notes of the students and the research, due to the social movements in 2019 and the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the relationship between the students and the school has become alienated, and some of them have left Hong Kong, such as teachers and friends who could have been the objects of conversation have left Hong Kong, so that the students do not know how to seek help when they are in difficulty, which affects the development of young people.
Yip also reminded parents not to get angry when their children are addicted to playing machines, describing that playing games is the "lifeblood" of young people, and there have been one or two cases after encountering this situation.

Director of the Centre for Suicide Prevention at the University of Hong Kong, Mr Simon Yip. (File photo/Photo by Lin Jingyi)

Ye Zhaohui said on the commercial channel program "Departure on a Clear Day" that from the suicide notes of some suicide cases, he learned that the social movement in 2019 and the three-year epidemic had a great impact on young people, and the relationship became estranged, and some people even left Hong Kong, including teachers and friends who could have been talkative. He added that family members, classmates and teachers are important partners for young people, and if they do not have a partnership, they may not know how to seek help. He is particularly worried that the situation will be more serious because November is exam season.

He said that police statistics show that 70 per cent of young people have no mental health record in suicide cases, and half of them do not seek help when they encounter problems.

There have been cases of accidents because parents pulled out wires"

Yip Siu-fai reminded parents not to get so angry that they want to "pull out the wire" when their children are addicted to playing machines, describing that playing games is the "lifeblood" of young people, and there have been one or two cases where accidents occurred after encountering this situation. He called on parents to "stop and wait" when they get angry, calm down their emotions first, and described that "there are no 'problem students', only 'problem parents'", and do not impose personal wishes on their children, "Parents themselves should know that it is not good to let your children bear the pressure of your own unfulfilled wishes, to achieve your wishes, and to respect the children's choices".

If you don't want to play with the computer, you just pull out the line, or throw away the computer, in fact, there are many times, we have one or two cases, all because of the reason, a small road will go wrong. Ye Zhaohui

Member of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health, Mr Chan Yau Hoi (file photo)

Chan You-kai, chair professor of the Department of Psychiatry of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong and a member of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health, said in the RTHK program "Millennials" that there have always been signals that the problem of suicide among students is serious, and previous research by the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Hong Kong showed that nearly 5% of students have had suicidal thoughts, and about <>% of them have suicide plans.

However, Chan admits that similar issues are quickly forgotten, and even though the government proposed a three-tier emergency mechanism to identify students many years ago, it is itself understaffed and unable to do anything about it. He believes that there is a need to encourage the establishment of peer network support, which should be done at the grassroots level.

Help Websites & Hotlines:

Samaritan Suicide Prevention Hong Kong Hotline: 23892222

Hospital Authority Mental Health Helpline: 24667350

Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Chi Ruo Yuen Hotline..18281

Samaritan Hotline..28960000

Social Welfare Department Hotline..23432255

Lifeline: 23820000

Immediate Communication of the Benefit People's Association: 35122626

Caritas Hotline: 18288

37 cases of youth suicide were recorded this year, and the police Hong Kong Island Regional Office held a sharing session Kwok Ka-chuen: One case of suicide among students has doubled Yip Siu-fai said that students feel hopeless The society needs to pay collective attention to the fact that in the first two months of school, 22 students have doubled their suicides year-on-year The group pointed out that they may not adapt to academic pressure due to the return to normal