Footage of a 17-year-old boy jumping to his death from a high bridge in Shanghai last week has sparked heated debate among internet users, with many criticising the standard of Chinese parenting.

The boy jumped from the Lupu Bridge, which crosses the Huangpu River, on Wednesday evening.Before he jumped, he had been in the back seat of a white car being driven by his mother, who suddenly stopped the vehicle on the bridge. The video shows the mother standing next to the car, apparently talking to her son inside.

After the mother returned to the driver's seat, the boy got out of the car and ran towards the side of the bridge. His mother chased him, but the boy jumped off the bridge, China News Service reported.

The mother, who was not named in the report, said she had criticised her son, a student at a technical school in the city, over a conflict with his classmates before he committed suicide


Footage of the incident posted on the internet has attracted tens of thousands of comments on Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblogging site.

Many denounced Chinese parenting, with some recalling their own experiences.

"His mother will live in guilt for the rest of her life. The boy's choice is definitely not due to this single argument. Crushing the camel to death is every straw on it," one internet user wrote, with his comment receiving more than 1,000 likes.

Another wrote: "His mother is like mine. No matter how deeply aggrieved I feel, my mother can always figure out my problems. I can't deny her love for me, but I also can't deny that her misguided way of educating me brought me much harm when I was young."

A third Weibo user said: "I totally understand the boy's feelings. He had conflicts with his peers and aspired to be comforted by his family. But instead, he was attacked and must have felt extremely bad."

Li Yinuo, chief representative of the Beijing office of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, wrote on WeChat, a mobile social media app: "Behind this short video, we can imagine unheard calls for many years, endless stifling depression and curbed emotions."

But some people said today's young needed to toughen up.

"Children today are getting weaker and weaker. Teachers can't say a bad word to them and at home, parents dare not criticise them. What can they do when they grow up?" an internet user wrote on Weibo.

Another wrote: "I think if a person hasn't experienced frustration when he is young, he will make trouble after he becomes an adult."

If you, or someone you know, are having suicidal thoughts, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on +1 800 273 8255.

Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.


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