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RFA: Suicide Rate among Municipal Officials Is Rising

According to an article published in RFA, on May 21, Wang Xiaoming, the deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, committed suicide by jumping off the building. Medical records indicate that Wang had been suffering from depression for a long period of time. The article reported that, in China, it is not uncommon for government officials to commit suicide. Statistics show that from 2009 to 2016, 243 municipal officials committed suicide. They range in age was from 45 to 55 years old. Most of them suffered from depression. The article quoted a few comments which revealed that government officials work under high pressure. They work in what is considered a high risk profession. If they don’t have the correct background, they have to pay a high price in order to get promoted. If they are the subject of an investigation, they usually don’t have many options because they know China does not operate under the rule of law. Thus the anti-corruption campaign has resulted in an increase in suicides. Corrupt officials choose suicide for three reasons: to eliminate criminal evidence and protect their peers; to protect the vested interests of their family members; and to protect their reputations.

Source: RFA, May 22, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/zhengzhi/yf2-05222018101629.html