Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Hong Kong Suicide Theme Park

Corker of a story in today's South China Morning Post (no link). What may have started out as lighthearted banter over bottles of Tsingtao beer after a hard day of councilling, Islands District councillor Lam Kit-sing (left) evidently decided was worth pursuing. A new Unique Selling Point for a little island in the South China Sea: promoting Bela Vista Villas (north end of the beach at Tung Wan) as a 'ghost town', with 'haunted flats' for people to stay in, plus, yes, an 'exhibition on the charcoal method of suicide'. Oh, it can also 'attract tourists for [Hong Kong] Disneyland to come [here]'. Neat tour package, huh?
Woooh-hoooo!
[Backstory] Bela Vista holiday flats have been the scene of more than 25 suicide attempts and 20 deaths during the past eight years. Yes, a little island in the South China Sea was, at one time, most especially for the heartbroken, stressed out and financially torpedoed, the island of choice for those who wished to off themselves. Local newspapers took to calling the island 'Hong Kong's suicide capital'. Before that, people merely came over from the nightclubs of Kowloon to murder one another. These days, however, holiday flat owners have a rough and ready profiling system before they rent out. Homicide/suicide events have eased off in the last couple of years. [/Backstory]
Mr Lam 'innovative proposals' have been met with howls of protest from, among others, Island District Councillor Kwong Kwok-wai, who criticised it as a 'bad stroke in calligraphy' -- a Chinese idiom that means 'a terrible move'. Paul Yip Siu-fai, director of the University of Hong Kong's Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention wasn't terribly impressed either.
Perhaps Mr Lam should next meet with the families, friends, work colleagues and acquaintances of those who committed suicide before he further develops his proposals. Or, do us all a favour: rent a room at Bela Vista, buy a bag of charcoal, firmly seal windows and doors, fire up the charcoal, close his eyes, and open his mouth wide, one last time...

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