TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A vigil was held outside the Executive Yuan Xinzhuang Joint Office Towers on Sunday (Nov. 24) to mourn a 39-year-old male civil servant surnamed Wu (吳) who committed suicide due to workplace bullying.
The entrance of the building was decorated with white candles and paper cranes as visitors sat in silence. After his death in the Ministry of Labor’s Workforce Development Agency was made public and an investigation was conducted his supervisor Hsieh I-jung (謝宜容) was relieved of her duties, per CNA
The vigil was organized by the Betia Alliance (白鐵聯盟), which called upon the public to visit and mourn all individuals who suffer from workplace bullying. The scene was serene and peaceful with no slogans or speeches, only the quiet flicker of candles and flutter of paper cranes arranged to represent "反80,” a Mandarin homophone for anti-bullying.
The initiator of the event, a 60-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), said her son also experienced bullying and was about the same age as Wu. This inspired her to reach out to young people to attend the vigil.
Wang said she felt heartache over the incident and wondered how a free and democratic country such as Taiwan with simple folk customs and culture could tolerate bullying, especially within the public sector. She hoped this incident would attract public attention to prevent future incidents.
According to a person attending the vigil, surnamed Lin (林), the Betia Alliance represents people who have suffered unfair treatment. However, Lin said that many of the attendees may have been spontaneously drawn to the event.
Those experiencing thoughts of suicide should immediately seek help by calling the Taiwan Suicide Prevention Center at 1925 or the Taiwan Lifeline International at 1995. Foreign residents can call the Community Services Center at 02-2836-8134 (business hours) or 0932-594-578 (after hours).
