Treat the mentally ill well for our own sake

Incidents of mentally ill people attacking others have increased. A few days ago, an aggressive customer allegedly beheaded a noodle shop owner following an argument over the price of a bowl of noodle in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province. And the tragic incident has once again raised public concern over how to cope with people with mental health problems.

Some countries have a mandatory screening system to segregate patients with mental health problems so that they do not harm other people or damage their properties. Other countries follow the principle of voluntary treatment, respect the individual wish of the mentally ill, and prevent other individuals and organizations from illegally curbing their freedom through identification or psychiatric treatment.

The Mental Health Law of China is based on the principle of voluntary treatment of people with mental illness, which means if the patients do not consider themselves mentally ill, they cannot be forced to receive treatment in any medical institution. Unless mentally ill patients' actions harm other people or public interest, public security organs or social organizations cannot send them to the hospital for treatment.