China Sees Suicide Rise Among Young Facing School Pressure
- Nation’s disease control center urges tailored intervention
- China’s young deal with fierce competition academically
A missing persons poster of student Hu Xinyu in Shangrao, Jiangxi province, in January. The 15-year-old boy died of an apparent suicide.
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China has seen an increase in suicides among young people in recent years, prompting researchers to call for a special program to help them deal with academic pressure.
The number of children aged five to 14 that died by suicide jumped nearly 10% annually from 2010 to 2021, according to a recent study from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The figure for people aged 15 to 24 fell 7% through 2017 then posted a nearly 20% increase the next four years.