Late on the night of April 25, A Ming committed suicide after having a normal video conversation with his mother.
A Ming worked in Guangdong and had to remain there because of the COVID-19 outbreak. In late April when the lockdown was removed, he returned to his hometown in Hubei, but he stayed in a hotel without telling his Christian parents.
After finishing a facetime chat with him, his parents found nothing unusual nor knew that he had returned to Hubei. After his suicide, his mother realized that it was abnormal that he called them at midnight.
Having lost contact with their son, they called the police, but the local station didn’t record their concern because Ming was no longer a minor.
On April 30, the owner of the hotel found Ming dead in a room. According to surveillance videos, he killed himself in the wee hours of April 26.
Ming’s parents are believers who attend a local church. When Ming was in high school, he wanted to go to church, but his parents refused as they felt it would affect his studies. It is not known whether he became a Christian at some point in time.
“A Ming wasn’t infected with the coronavirus, but he failed to endure the social pressure that came with the virus. In a posthumous letter he said farewell to his family”, said Pastor X from the church.
“This generation lacks faith,” he added.
Pastor X said that his parents told the church the sad news because they could hardly accept the reality—Ming, the only child of his family, left them. Church co-workers visited to give company and comfort.
Working away from home, Ming never shared any difficulty with his parents. However, his last letter implied that he was overwhelmed by severe social barriers, intense social competition, heavy work pressure, and inner emptiness. When facing his parents, he could only force himself to smile.
Teacher L from a Christian psychological center held that in this case, his parents did not understand his heart. Apparently, Ming suffered from psychological problems much earlier, but his parents did not recognize them or completely neglected them.
He said that parents should focus more on their children’s emotions, feelings, their state of mind, and the pressure they may be under. The Christian parent might have been too selfish to bring their son to God. Many Chinese parents care too more about their children’s financial state and study conditions.
Since the tragedy has happened, church pastors will try to give counsel to his parents.
- Translated by Karen Luo
