A teacher guides students to classrooms at Fung Kai No. 1 School in Sheung Shui on Sept 4, 2023. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Leader of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Tuesday called for concerted efforts by various sectors to address the recent rise in youth suicide, stressing that the government would do its utmost in this regard.

Speaking to the media ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, John Lee Ka-chiu said that while there was no single panacea, it’s a collective job, with the government taking the leading role, to tackle mental health problems among youngsters.

“It is the government's responsibility to promote and protect mental health among our students, as they are in different corners, different schools and different districts.,” he said, adding that neighbors, friends, relatives, peers and other stakeholders should extend a helping hand when necessary.

We will be calling for resources outside the school, such as from the welfare sector, from the education sector, and also from the medical sector, so that we can help the students at the right stage so that their cases won't deteriorate into the most urgent cases that we have to refer them to medical experts.

John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive

According to data from Hong Kong’s primary and secondary schools, which are required to report such cases to the government, there were 21 suspected fatal suicide cases in 2020, 25 in 2021 and as many in 2022.

As of October this year, the city’s schools reported at least 27 suspected fatal suicide cases, the city’s education chief said in a written reply to a related question at the Legislative Council on Nov 22.

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“We will be calling for resources outside the school, such as from the welfare sector, from the education sector, and also from the medical sector, so that we can help the students at the right stage so that their cases won't deteriorate into the most urgent cases that we have to refer them to medical experts,” the chief executive said during the briefing.

The government had coordinated efforts with relevant bureaus and departments to study all information available, which so far had showed students were facing pressure in academic studies, interpersonal skills and character building, following the resumption of normal school lives after the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

The authorities will be improving general mental health such as through awareness and prevention programs, and collective awareness-building including teachers, parents and even workers who will be involved in this area, he added.

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Lee emphasized that everyone in the society needs to play his part to help promote mental health generally, in particularly, of the youths, because the youths are the city's future.