New Taiwan Law on Suicide Reporting Leads to Debate
2020-03-19
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1A new Taiwan law bars news media from reporting different kinds of information about suicides, including methods used.
2Limits on media reporting are aimed at reducing the number of people who try to kill themselves.
3Taiwan officials say about 7,000 young people between the ages of 13 and 19 attempted suicide in 2018.
4That number is 19 percent above the world average, notes the island's Ministry of Health and Welfare.
5Under the new Suicide Prevention Act, newspapers, websites and television stations can be fined up to about $33,000 for showing pictures or videos of suicides.
6They also can be fined for reporting details of suicide methods or explaining how to buy tools for suicide.
7Even explaining why an individual might have committed suicide can lead to punishment.
8The act cleared its public consultation period last week.
9Taiwan's government can now make changes as it wishes or enforce the law in its current form.
10Wu Chia-yi is with the National Taiwan University's College of Medicine.
11Wu said that suicides normally go up in Taiwan for three months following reports that identify famous people who killed themselves, as well as how and where they died.
12"According to our clinical experience and some of our interaction with patients, we've discovered that the more detailed info, the more influential it is," Wu said.
13Taiwan's four major daily newspapers and many websites currently report on famous people who take their own lives as well as other unusual suicides.
14The stories may go into great detail.
15Cédric Alviani heads the East Asia office of the group Reporters Without Borders.
16He said he understands what Taiwan officials are trying to do.
17But he thinks the law will limit the media's ability to get the story right.
18He said, "We perfectly understand that it is their duty to try and bring improvements to the society and address that terrible society problem that is suicide and especially suicide of teenagers," he said.
19"However, the solution they propose...is not a solution."
20New Zealand is the only place that has a similar law, Alviani added.
21In that country, the media cannot report a suicide's method without the medical examiner's permission.
22In other places, media companies follow World Health Organization (WHO) guidance.
23WHO officials suggest avoiding "explicit description" of methods, details of where people died and "undue repetitions" of suicide stories.
24Restrictions on suicide reporting could open the door for other kinds of media restrictions, notes Joanna Lei, head of the Chunghua 21st Century research group in Taiwan.
25"I see this as a social responsibility of the media," Lei said.
26"It should not be legislated."
27Reporters Without Borders said Taiwan's government should better organize the media and talk to news operations about "ethics."
28Taiwan's major media currently take down social media posts if experts ask them to, Wu said.
29Most newspapers in Taiwan limit their coverage of suicides,
30but still put major cases on their front pages, said Fang Chun-kai, director of the Suicide Prevention Center at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei.
31He suggests putting reports about suicide with other "society news" and away from the day's top stories.
32I'm Ashley Thompson.
1A new Taiwan law bars news media from reporting different kinds of information about suicides, including methods used. 2Limits on media reporting are aimed at reducing the number of people who try to kill themselves. Taiwan officials say about 7,000 young people between the ages of 13 and 19 attempted suicide in 2018. That number is 19 percent above the world average, notes the island's Ministry of Health and Welfare. 3Under the new Suicide Prevention Act, newspapers, websites and television stations can be fined up to about $33,000 for showing pictures or videos of suicides. They also can be fined for reporting details of suicide methods or explaining how to buy tools for suicide. Even explaining why an individual might have committed suicide can lead to punishment. 4The act cleared its public consultation period last week. Taiwan's government can now make changes as it wishes or enforce the law in its current form. 5Wu Chia-yi is with the National Taiwan University's College of Medicine. Wu said that suicides normally go up in Taiwan for three months following reports that identify famous people who killed themselves, as well as how and where they died. 6"According to our clinical experience and some of our interaction with patients, we've discovered that the more detailed info, the more influential it is," Wu said. 7Taiwan's four major daily newspapers and many websites currently report on famous people who take their own lives as well as other unusual suicides. The stories may go into great detail. 8Cédric Alviani heads the East Asia office of the group Reporters Without Borders. He said he understands what Taiwan officials are trying to do. But he thinks the law will limit the media's ability to get the story right. 9He said, "We perfectly understand that it is their duty to try and bring improvements to the society and address that terrible society problem that is suicide and especially suicide of teenagers," he said. "However, the solution they propose...is not a solution." 10New Zealand is the only place that has a similar law, Alviani added. In that country, the media cannot report a suicide's method without the medical examiner's permission. 11In other places, media companies follow World Health Organization (WHO) guidance. WHO officials suggest avoiding "explicit description" of methods, details of where people died and "undue repetitions" of suicide stories. 12Restrictions on suicide reporting could open the door for other kinds of media restrictions, notes Joanna Lei, head of the Chunghua 21st Century research group in Taiwan. 13"I see this as a social responsibility of the media," Lei said. "It should not be legislated." 14Reporters Without Borders said Taiwan's government should better organize the media and talk to news operations about "ethics." 15Taiwan's major media currently take down social media posts if experts ask them to, Wu said. 16Most newspapers in Taiwan limit their coverage of suicides, but still put major cases on their front pages, said Fang Chun-kai, director of the Suicide Prevention Center at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei. 17He suggests putting reports about suicide with other "society news" and away from the day's top stories. 18I'm Ashley Thompson. 19Ralph Jennings reported on this story for VOA News. George Grow adapted his report for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 20______________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22consultation - n. the action of officially discussing something 23according - adv. as stated by or in 24clinical - adj. Related to the treatment of patients 25info - n. short for the word information 26address - v. to speak to a person or group 27explicit - adj. cleared stated and in much detail 28repetition - n. the action of repeating something 29page - n. one side on a piece of paper, commonly in a book or newspaper 30We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.