“If only there wasn’t such a strong stigma, and given early intervention, a lot of these tragedies could be avoided,” said Elaine Peng, president of the Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities, based in Castro Valley, California, which is among the few groups in Silicon Valley or elsewhere catering to troubled Cantonese- and Mandarin-speakers. “It’s too bad that nobody noticed the seriousness of his problem so he could get help early on.”
Many details and the motivation behind Chen’s alleged murder of Yu remain unknown and may only emerge at trial later this year. Nor is it known if Chen will cite mental health in his defence. But experts say problems the couple appeared to face fit patterns commonly seen in their counselling work.
Chinese and other Asian engineers working in the US often have stellar academic backgrounds before landing a job at Google, Meta or other leading US firms. Chen, from Sichuan province, and Yu, from Jilin province, were top students at their high schools before attending Beijing’s Tsinghua University and the University of California, San Diego. “Their perfect education background and work experience had allowed them to live an enviable life,” said Global Times, the state mouthpiece, in a report about the murder.
After the euphoria subsides, however, many immigrants with stressful careers are confronted with the first bout of hardship they have faced. Coddled by their parents, touted as prodigies by teachers, their personalities may be brittle and ill-equipped to deal with setbacks.
“They are hit with nostalgia for their home country and suddenly face a huge gap between expectations and reality. That’s when they start having problems,” said Peng, who said a sizeable portion of her group’s clients are in the IT…
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