China's mental health law takes effect

For years one of the strategies used against government critics is to send them to psychiatric facilities without the person's own consent. But this situation may change soon. Now after almost 28 years of twists and turns in debates and efforts for legislation, China's mental health law takes effect today, to protect the rights of the mentally ill.

Cases of people forced into mental hospitals against their will. Some were sent there by employers over wage disputes, some by family members in fights over money, and some, by police who wanted to silence their grievances against local officials.

A continual source of public outrage, and a thorny issue for the government, now have hopes to be resolved.

The new law states for the first time that mental health examinations and treatment must be conducted on a voluntary basis, unless a person is considered a danger to himself or others. Only psychiatrists will have the authority to commit people to hospitals, but treatment may be compulsory for patients with a severe mental illness.

The law also standardises mental health care services. It requires general hospitals to set up special outpatient clinics or provide counselling, and calls for the training of more doctors.

As China gets richer, people are also more aware of modern-day stresses and the need for treatment.

According to a 2007 survey by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 100 million Chinese people suffer from mental illness, among them, 16 million have severe conditions.

As a number of deficiencies in China's health-care system still stand, activists say, the passing and implementation of the new law is a step in the right direction.

But the next step, is to enforce it well as widely expected.