TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) came under fire after its Department of Mental Health Director-General Chen Li-chung (諶立中) attributed increasing student suicide rates in recent years to the “growing number of tall buildings in Taiwan.”

In a social media post, the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy (TYAD) wrote that Chen made the statement during the National Report International Review Meeting under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). He had been asked by an international review committee member if the government has conducted research on whether youth commit suicide due to systemic reasons such as academic pressure.

Chen was quoted as replying, “In the past five years, there has been a sudden increase in the rate of youths choosing to end their lives, but if we take out the factor of jumping off buildings, it is actually not that apparent. Within the past two decades, due to the growing number of tall buildings, many youths have ended their lives by impulsively jumping off buildings. This is one focus for (suicide) prevention in the future.”

The Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare responded to the statement by demanding that MOHW apologize publicly and hold incompetent officials accountable.

“The MOHW official said youths commit ‘impulsive suicide,’ but aside from suicide by jumping off buildings, officials still cannot explain why the youth suicide rate has been growing every year!” the organization wrote in a post. “Not only did the MOHW not answer the international expert’s question directly, it even demonstrated that the government department responsible for citizens’ mental health and suicide prevention seriously lacks professionalism!”

The organization claimed that it received complaints from youths about having to fight over top universities’ counseling resources as well as students’ poor mental state around midterms or finals, which reflects that academic pressure is an issue that needs attention. It asked that the MOHW place proper priority on youths’ mental health and introduce more counselors to schools.

UDN reported that, in response to the backlash, Chen said that considering suicide methods affect mortality rates and the increase of non-commercial buildings that are more difficult to manage, the number of impulsively suicidal people has in fact increased in the past 10 years. He stressed that as most youth suicides take the form of jumping off buildings, this was indeed a major factor in the growth of youth suicide rates according to research and analysis.

He added that in the past, most tall buildings were commercial with controlled traffic and locks. However, nowadays, not only are there more and taller buildings, but most of them are also residential with apartments that come with balconies, giving suicidal individuals much easier access.

Chen admitted that he had not explained the logic and reasoning during the review meeting, which was why there was a misunderstanding. He said there are other factors that go into youth suicide prevention, such as changing family structures, a topic garnering more interest during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to TYAD, this was not the first time Chen has made controversial statements. In 2018, he was criticized for advising the public to “change its habits of barbecuing” because leftover charcoal would be used by some to commit suicide.

At the time, Chen had clarified to say he meant he wanted to change how charcoal is sold to prevent impulsive suicides. However, TYAD cited Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Suicide Prevention Center Director Chang Chia-ming (張家銘) as saying while the method would reduce access to a way to end a life, it would not be effective in curbing non-impulsive suicides.