TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A new study looked at the association between suicides and internet searches in Taiwan for depression, suicide, and emigration after large Chinese military activities around the country's periphery.
On Tuesday (Dec. 26), the Asian Journal of Psychiatry released a study titled "Associations of China's Military Activities in the Peripheries of Taiwan with Suicide Death and Internet Searches for Depression, Suicide, and Emigration Among Individuals in Taiwan." The study assessed the impact on the mental health of Taiwanese from China's military incursions into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
The researchers examined data on the number of daily intrusions by the Chinese military into the ADIZ from Sept. 17, 2020, to Aug. 26, 2023. The study also reviewed Taiwan's suicide mortality data.
The study found suicides and internet searches for suicide, depression, and emigration all rose in Taiwan during China's escalated military drills from 2020 to 2023. There were 15.2–16.2 suicides per 100000 residents between 2020 and 2022, while searches for suicide, emigration, and depression reached peaks in the middle of 2021 and the middle of 2022.
In 2022, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a historic visit to Taiwan, which was immediately followed by large-scale Chinese military exercises around the country and included the launching of several missiles over Taiwan. The drills included six live fire zones that surrounded Taiwan from Aug. 4-10.
The study noted that in the past, emigration has "been a coping strategy used by economically empowered Taiwanese individuals in the face of the threat from China." They said Taiwan saw significant waves of emigration following the country's withdrawal from the U.N. in 1971, the severing of U.S. diplomatic relations by Jimmy Carter in 1979, and after the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1996.
Those considering suicide should immediately call the Taiwan Suicide Prevention Center at 1925 or Taiwan Lifeline International at 1995. Foreign residents can call the Community Services Center's 24-hour emergency hotline at 0932-594-578.
