KAOHSIUNG (Taiwan News) – Nearly a decade ago, I lost a close family member to suicide.
It was, as you can imagine, an acutely painful moment for the whole family. The pain fades over time, but the questions remain.
Why did this happen? Was there anything I could have done to help? Was there any way I could have prevented this from happening?
As well as being Taiwan National Day, Oct. 10 was also World Mental Health Day. There were numerous articles about mental health issues, including on suicide, and, as a result, it tends to be a day when my experience bubbles back to the surface again.
It is, therefore, fair to say that my reaction to reading comments from the KMT’s Kaohsiung mayoral candidate, Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), on Facebook, was not as calm and rational as it might have been.
For those who didn’t see what Ko posted, she highlighted the fact that eight bodies had been recovered from Kaohsiung’s rivers in the previous 37 days and asked, “Is (DPP Mayor of Kaohsiung) Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) taking residents’ suffering seriously?”
What followed was an unsightly politicization of the suicide rate in Kaohsiung that should make both hang their heads in shame.
Political suicide
Chen said the city’s suicide rate had decreased since he took office. Ko’s office released a statement saying the number of suicides in Kaohsiung rose from 453 in 2020 to 490 in 2021.
Ko claimed there have been 4,700 suicides in Kaohsiung over the past 10 years. The Kaohsiung Health Bureau then retorted by saying the year with the most suicides was 2019, when the KMT’s Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) was Kaohsiung mayor.
Ko fought back, saying the DPP “always uses Han Kuo-yu as a scapegoat” and noting that Kaohsiung’s suicide rate is the highest among the six special municipalities. She added that “Chen should hurry up and think of effective ways to prevent suicides.”
Finally, a flicker of sanity returned as Chen said that suicide is a serious issue and should not be politicized and used in election campaigns. Even then, there was the sense from KMT supporters I spoke to that they had won the argument.
Self harm
In truth, this debate has damaged both candidates in the eyes of a great many voters.
A joint statement issued by suicide prevention volunteers and clinical psychiatrists, rightly described the exchange as “worrisome and contemptible.” It urged both candidates to drop the issue saying, “This talk evokes painful memories for the friends and relatives of suicide victims.”
I can vouch for that, and doubtless, there are a great many Kaohsiung citizens similarly affected by suicide who feel the same way. The statement also said the debate “risks encouraging copycat suicides.”
This is an even bigger concern. Politicizing suicide in this way is not just distasteful, it is downright dangerous.
Copycat suicides or suicide contagion is a genuine phenomenon and we can only hope that there isn’t a further spike in suicides in Kaohsiung, and indeed across Taiwan, as a result of this political exchange.
Chen should not have engaged. He should not have risen to the bait, and, to his small credit, he does seem to have eventually realized that.
But Ko, as a professional educator, will have known full well the likely impact of her politicization of suicide on vulnerable people in Kaohsiung. But she chose to proceed anyway and continued to escalate the issue.
Her actions are deplorable and, sadly, appear to be a sign of just how low the modern KMT is willing to stoop in order to try and make itself politically relevant and electable again. If this is the best she can offer, her campaign in Kaohsiung is doomed to failure.
New approach needed
But much more important than the political impact of this debate is the light it has shone on Taiwan’s outdated approach to mental health issues more generally.
It remains something of a stigma in this country. The rest of the developed world is moving well beyond that, and Taiwan needs to keep pace.
Politicians in Taiwan absolutely should not be politicizing suicide rates. However, there are plenty of legitimate attack lines around the failure of regional and national administrations to tackle the root causes of suicide and offer the mental health treatments and support that many of these victims badly needed.
This has been a dark moment in Kaohsiung politics. But if this unseemly debate can trigger some positive changes to Taiwan’s approach to mental health issues, perhaps something can be salvaged from this unpleasant episode.
Anyone affected by suicide or who feels that they need help with mental issues for themselves or others can call 1925 or 1995 for 24-hour support. Alternatively, you can visit the Teacher Chang Foundation for independent support.
