The 1994 dual suicide of two Taipei First Girls' High School students became one of Taiwan's major social news events, raising public discussion about LGBTQ acceptance.
Key Facts
- Date bodies found
- 25 July 1994
- Number of victims
- 2
- School
- Taipei First Girls' High School
- Grade
- Grade 2
- Method
- Charcoal burning with insufficient ventilation
- Location
- Motel in Su'ao Town, Yilan County, Taiwan
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Lin Qinghui and Shi Jiya, two Grade 2 students at Taipei First Girls' High School, left no clear explanation in their suicide note. Media speculation and alleged writings at their school suggested the pair may have faced profound distress over same-sex feelings in a society they believed would not accept them.
On or around 23 July 1994, the two girls traveled together to a motel in Su'ao Town, Yilan County, Taiwan, where they died by suicide through charcoal burning with insufficient ventilation. Their bodies and a suicide note were discovered by motel staff at noon on 25 July 1994, who then notified police.
The case became one of the biggest social news stories in Taiwan that year. It prompted widespread media coverage and public debate about LGBTQ acceptance in Taiwanese society, with speculation that societal intolerance of same-sex relationships may have contributed to the tragedy, though no definitive motive was established.