The proposed national mental health law in China: a landmark document for the protection of psychiatric patients' civil rights

*Correspondence: [email protected] The draft National Mental Health Law of China was released for public consultations on June 10, 2011. Following wide-ranging public consultations, the draft was further amended by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on October 24, 2011. Although the penultimate draft has been finalized, there are continuous debates and concerns about its potential negative effects on mental health services in China. The article in this issue of the Shanghai Archives of Psychiatry by Professor Xie argues that the proposed law over-emphasizes patient’s self-sufficiency and, thus, neglects traditional Chinese culture, accepted practices of mental health care in the country, and the insufficient community resources for providing mental health services; he contends that these weaknesses in the law will lead to a number of undesirable consequences. Professor Xie’s concerns reflect the negative attitudes about the law of a considerable number of mental health professionals in China who assume that the strong emphasis on the protection of the rights of psychiatric patients will restrict clinician’s treatment options. Our views about the draft National Mental Health Law, which we briefly summarize below, are different.