Chinese society needs to reflect on the “suicide show” (Global Times)

Chinese society needs to reflect on the “suicide show”

• Source: Global Times
• [22:42 February 07 2010]
• Comments

By Xiao Kailin

A Chinese girl who claimed to be depressed and wanted to end her life recently staged a live suicide show on the Internet after swallowing poisonous herbs. (”Girl’s online suicide posts stir anxiety,” Page 7, January 29, 2010, Global Times)

This incident aroused the concerns of tens of thousands of netizens. They alerted police for help and tried to save this netizen’s life. Luckily, she was sent to the hospital and reported out of danger after treatment.

China has seen an increasing number of online posts titled, “Death Note” or “Live Suicide Webcast.”

Each time, the incident has led to an emergency search-and-rescue operation by concerned Internet users.

In some cases, the hard work of netizens can save a life.

But in most cases, those who claim to commit suicide are merely deceiving the public in order to achieve instant notoriety.

It has become fashionable for modern Web users to put on shows in all forms. But a “suicide show” with someone betting their own life really makes one feel sad. No culture in the world encourages suicide.

Many of those who stage a “suicide show” do not really want to end their lives. They merely want to draw social attention to their personal problems and solve their practical difficulties.

Apart from the Internet, there are more and more incidents in Chinese society where people stage frightening stunts to attract sympathy.

These people put on their own “suicide shows” by climbing tall buildings and bridges, shouting, “I want to commit suicide!”

They do so in order to catch the public attention and bring officials to solve their problems.

“Suicide shows” have stirred great controversy in China.

Though their legality has been questioned, it is seldom heard that other countries are considering laws to make the practice illegal.

The “suicide show” often results in the waste of social resources, often leading to large-scale power outages, traffic paralyzed, and police rushing to the scene. That is why some have suggested severe measures to punish this behavior.

Others argue that blindly enforced measures do not address the root causes of the problem.

Common sense would dictate that people willing to put on such a show at the price of their lives must suffer unbearable problems.

In China, those who stage “suicide shows” are mostly from vulnerable social groups who feel helpless to protect their civil rights.

The public consensus is that such people lack psychological endurance and problem-solving abilities. They believe their problems won’t be solved unless they seriously disturb the social order.

Whether from a social, political or legal perspective, these frequent “suicide shows” deserve greater attention and reflection.

The public should be educated to cherish life. More relief channels need to be provided for the vulnerable groups.

Suicide “hot lines” and other intervention mechanisms should be established.

In addition, in a variety of “suicide shows,” the media often play an active or passive role.

It is a fact that in modern society people have become more dependent on the media for communication.

Politicians, celebrities and ordinary people all need to know how to establish a better relationship with the media, how to use the media and even how to manipulate the media.

They should understand how the media and Internet users can exaggerate the seriousness of anything, including “suicide shows.”

The author is a Beijing-based journalist. xiaokailin@sina.com

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