:( Hong Kong: Suicide capital of the world

[BoEinG_747]

HONG KONG -- Yu Kei-cheong had a great success with his first textbook, using short stories to help primary school pupils understand maths, and a second volume is set to be released in the coming weeks.
But the teacher will never see that happen. He leapt to his death from his 22nd-storey apartment in early January -- watched by his teenaged daughter -- after complaining of being unhappy at work.

Yu was the second suicide that week by a Hong Kong teacher, and their deaths have sparked a renewed public debate about the hard-working lifestyle of this global financial center.

"Hong Kong is a very ill society," says Paul Yip, director of the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at Hong Kong University.

"People are facing a lot of pressure at work. You used to have three people doing the same job, now you have two. Everyone is after higher productivity and more financial gains," he says.

Hong Kong's suicide rate of 18.6 per 100,000 people is above the world average of 14.5, and officials say the rate is increasing dramatically among working-age professionals as well as unskilled workers.

In 2003, the last year for which the figures have been fully compiled, there were 1,264 suicides, up 14.1 percent over 2002. The rate works out to more than three people every day.

Among professionals, the suicide rate per 100,000 people increased from 2.28 between 1990 and 1994 to 7.3 from 1999 to 2003, according to official figures -- more than a threefold increase.

Clinical psychologist Paul Wong, who wrote the content for "Depressed Little Prince," the suicide center's website, says that many people in the city who are suffering from depression are reluctant to seek help.

"Hong Kong people think depression is a psychiatric illness, which is equivalent to being crazy," Wong says.

According to the World Health Organization, depression ranks fourth in the 10 leading cause of global burden of disease and is expected to become the number two cause within the next two decades.

Many experts believe that financial instability may account for the rising number of Hong Kongers who are taking their own lives.

Economic turmoil from the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 have had a tremendous impact on the lives of ordinary people in a city that provides few economic safety nets.

"Figures in the West found people who committed suicide because of financial worries were fewer," says Yip. "Chinese people are more worried about money."

[ts1n1ta]

kung money din lang eh di sana mas madaming suicides dito sa pinas....

[KALAMPAG]

O well, pag dito may pamilyang maaasahan at mauutangan... hehehehe

[FPJ]

Philippines: Videoke capital of the World. Kabwisit ang ingay talaga!

[theveed]

Yes, dami sa HK, kaya nga kita nyo yung MTR ngayon double pane doors na, it prevents people from jumping into the tracks during the approach of the subway train.

Also the reason why the natural gas heaters these days are hightech, dati kasi they'll fill the room with natural gas, grab their phones and call themselves causing a small spike in electricity/voltage then BOOM, sabog ang flat...

[BoEinG_747]

Yes, dami sa HK, kaya nga kita nyo yung MTR ngayon double pane doors na, it prevents people from jumping into the tracks during the approach of the subway train.

Also the reason why the natural gas heaters these days are hightech, dati kasi they'll fill the room with natural gas, grab their phones and call themselves causing a small spike in electricity/voltage then BOOM, sabog ang flat...

kakatakot pala kung may neighbor ka na ganyan ..kampante ka nag papahinga or natutulog sa bahay ...tapos may katabi ka na may problem .....at tinopak .....KAAA BOOOMMM..goodbye mother earth

[raine_s]

oh kaya pala double sided doors na
akala ko for safety reason lan last year
tumatalon pala, thats sad

[scarab]

...HK people are worried bout money? kakaiba to' ah.

[boybi]

buti nalang walang problema sa money mga hong kong tsikoteers natin ;) tama ba 5speed, ICB, BongLiza?

nasaan na nga pala si ICB?

[theveed]

Well, mataas ang pressure ng society sa HK, unlike here.

It's not just about money per se, but you do have to realize the astronomic cost of living there.

Bata palang mga tao (post high school) sobrang pressured na. With a strict and low success rate of getting into a college (sobrang competitive), the well-to-do will probably send their kids abroad for college, the really smart ones will get into the good colleges and most will just work (I think most of my cousins, except for 1 out of 9 went straight to the workforce, and their families are in pretty average/good financial states) straight out of highschool.

Vocational and tech courses are popular post highschool there.

I don't think it's as much of an issue these days than before, when the economy was really good, good jobs are available but requires a degree... Those days, kids are commiting suicide left and right when they know they couldn't make it to college.

These days, college kids are glad enough to get low paying jobs like handing out flyers and stuff on the streets...

I didn't really realize the cost of living there until I went there last year. It's so difficult to survive in a single income home that makes around HK$20-30K unless you live with your folks or have government housing.

The pressure is really high.

Di gaya dito kahit mahirap pa-banjing banjing lang...

[ts1n1ta]

ahhh no wonder....

[SiAKOL]

Second is Washington state.

[boybi]

pero kahit average income earner lang mga taga HK, makikita mo yung laman ng bahay nila, although maliit lang, e punongpuno ng electronics. naka plasma tv pa!

[theveed]

boybi: pero they're not exactly being bought as luxury items like they do here, relatively speaking they're not that expensive and whatever gives good quality and performance at a SMALLER FOOTPRINT will sell well dun.

Ermat ko at ate ko sobrang low-tech sa consumer electronics pero nagpapalit ng TV every 2-3 years hehe... Labo...

[mazdamazda]

nakaka hinayang talaga...

[BlueBimmer]

japan ganyan din, sobrang liit ng area ng bahay but puno ng high tech electronics

[CVT]

Just goes to show how resilient we Filipinos are vs. the rest of the world!

We have the ooouuumppfff(never-say-die) and *arguably* the necessary talent to succeed as a nation. IMHO, there is just ONE THING that prevents us from being able to do so. I am sure we all have an idea what it is.

Your guess is as good as mine! Good luck to all of us!

[theveed]

Resilient is different from apathetic...

No offense, but the bahala na attitude and finger-pointing-before-action is not resiliency.

[Alpha_One]

Resilient is different from apathetic...

No offense, but the bahala na attitude and finger-pointing-before-action is not resiliency.

I dunno about the finger-pointing stuff, but from what I've learned in Socsci classes, "Bahala na" is indeed related to resiliency.

Contrary to popular belief that bahala na = fatalism, it isn't. Bahala na is something you say not when you've given up your fate to... whatever. Instead, it allows people to cope with situations where the outcome is uncertain.

BTW, in my book, "do nothing" is an action. "Do nothing" is both the best AND the worst piece of advice I can give to anyone.

Sorry may pagka OT.

[CtrlAltDel]

We Filipinos have big-time money problems, alright. But the reason we are not yet jumping to our deaths is that we have this incredible hope that we might just win the lotto on the next draw. It's a preposterous belief but it keeps us alive, nyehehe.