Taiwan reports rise in campus suicides over 5 years

TAIPEI -- Taiwan has seen a sharp increase in campus suicide cases, with the total number in 2022 registering a seven-fold rise from 2017, according to the region's education authority.

Among the cases detected in primary schools, junior and senior high schools, as well as colleges, those committed by pupils reported the biggest growth from 114 to 1,183, said the authority.

Chan Chao-neng, an associate professor of social psychology from Shih-Hsin University, attributed the suicide cases to students' mental health problems, saying that when they feel hopeless or frustrated, they could have suicidal thoughts.

Statistics from the island's health and welfare affairs authority show that the suicide death rate among people aged between 15 and 24 increased from 6 per 100,000 in 2012 to 10.7 per 100,000 in 2022, prompting attention to the mental health of young people in the region.