Mayor Chu calls for taking multiple measures to prevent suicide
Due to recent frequent suicide occurrences, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu today at the city administration conference called for taking multiple measures such as social assistance programs, emergency relief fund, and mobilization of village chiefs and volunteers to prevent suicide.
Mayor Chu stressed that in order to timely handle every potential case of suicide, a device that can track an incoming caller’s residential address needs to be implemented. Fire Department said the current device they use can track the residential addresses from local calls but they still need negotiations with Chunghwa Telecom to implement the function to track numbers from mobile phones. They expect such function to be implemented by the end the year.
According to Department of Health, Deputy Mayor Hou Youyi will assemble Fire Department and Economical Development Department tomorrow to discuss measures preventing suicide. Although the number of suicide cases in 2011 has decreased in comparison with the number in 2010, officials are seeing a rising trend in the number of charcoal-burning suicides. New Taipei City Government plans on following Hong-Kong’s policy of making purchase of charcoal more difficult.
Department of Health also called out to the public, asking citizens to be more aware of their neighbors and call for assistance when encountering any potential case of suicide. Through free counseling service available in every district public health center, cooperation with private groups (e.g., religious groups, etc.), and influence of media, Department of Health believed it can help people in distress to find their mental peace and rekindle their desire to live.