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The purpose of this blog is to explore suicide of youths and young adults in Hong Kong.  Why did I choose this topic?  My first encounter with suicide is in May 2000 when my close friend Ronald in his late twenties committed suicide by charcoal burning.  It was rumored that he had very heavy financial debts attributed to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.  I had known him since Form 1 (Grade 8).  The last time I saw him was Christmas 1999 when we had drinks after our high school gathering.  I did not notice anything unusual about him (or I was not paying close attention).  I was shocked when I heard the news.  Since four years ago, I have had close acquaintance with a local university which is dubbed as “the university of stress and tension” whereby suicidal rate is reported to be highest in Hong Kong.  Two suicides and one suicidal attempt were reported in the last twelve months.   Then in December last year, I was shocked to read that five children aged between 10 and 16 years old committed suicide in Hong Kong during November.  These personal experiences and observations made me ponder “why”.  Why is it that these youths and young adults took their own lives?  Isn’t it that “tomorrow is another day” (from the movie “Gone with the Wind”)? 

I would like to explore this topic through various perspectives starting from the broadest view, such as discussions of suicide and suicidal behavior, cultural impact on suicide, followed by suicide in Asia, and finally narrowed to suicidal issues in Hong Kong faced by youths and young adults, such as their attitudes towards suicides and their belief systems.  I believe through an understanding of big picture of suicide will allow us to differentiate unique issues faced by Hong Kong youths and young adults.  In doing so, we will carry this journey in various stages (blog posts), and during this journey, I will share my research findings as well as my personal observations and thoughts.