Conservative government figures estimate the percentage of the population with mental illness grew from 0.54 per cent in the 1970s to 1.35 per cent in the 1990s.

Despite the shocking headlines and daunting figures, experts say the mainland has come a long way in its attitude and response to mental illness. Not so long ago, people with psychological problems, rather than be referred to medical professionals, were sent to a party secretary for 'ideology correction classes'.

The National Mental Health Project of China (2002-2010), enacted in April 2002, set various goals for tackling mental health issues, such as promoting mental health awareness among 50 per cent of the population and extending treatment and rehabilitation services to 800 million people by 2010.

The government showed further recognition of the problem's severity in 2004 when it issued a joint-ministry proposal to strengthen prevention and treatment.

Mental health accounts for 20 per cent of the government's health spending, a figure expected to rise to 25 per cent by 2020, overshadowing all other health problems. Along with government efforts, there has also been a blossoming of psychology and counselling programmes on radio and television.

'Overall there is optimism and momentum in the mental health community,' said Michael Philips, a World Health Organisation mental health consultant with 20 years' experience in China.

Experts believe a long-anticipated Mental Health Law will soon be passed and will improve the situation.

Peking University's Sun Dongdong , an advocate and drafter of the law since 1985, has seen the law go through at least 20 revisions and is confident it will be passed next year because, he says, the country has the awareness of the problem and financial ability to deal with it.

'China did not recognise the existence of psychological problems in the past, only ideological problems,' Professor Sun said.

'If you had a psychological problem, you were referred to the party secretary. People are paying increasing attention to mental health and officials are realising the importance of it. It is also a matter of human rights and ensuring social stability, especially with the Olympics coming up.'

Beijing introduced city-level mental health guidelines at the end of last year, joining Shanghai and Hangzhou in taking the lead in legislating on mental health.

But Professor Sun thinks management of mental patients requires a law at national level. Three-quarters of the WHO's 160 member states already have mental health legislation. The mainland was the only country in Asia that did not, he said.

Protection of human rights was a major consideration, because mental patients were often treated and held in custody against their wishes, Professor Sun said. They also suffered employment and other discrimination after recovery.

The law was also necessary for the protection of the public. The mentally ill were responsible for about 10,000 incidents of serious social disturbances each year, he said.

But the biggest problem remains funding. The law will have to guarantee funds for patients and hospitals. Many mental patients cannot afford treatment - or are forced into poverty by the cost of it - and this leaves mental hospitals in debt.

The attacker who slashed the throat of a six-year-old boy he claimed had insulted him is a good example of financial ordeals faced by the mentally ill and their families. According to Southern Metropolis News, the attacker's father, Zhang Wenbiao , spent about 1,000 yuan a month to treat his 21-year-old son after he was diagnosed as psychotic. As the family's savings rapidly disappeared, they were forced to switch to a cheaper drug costing 300 yuan a month. After spending 80,000 yuan over two years, the father had to sell his small rural food stall and moved to Guangzhou as a migrant worker, where he earned 800 yuan a month.

The WHO says less than 15 per cent of the mainland's population is covered by comprehensive health insurance. In Beijing, of 12,105 mental patients with money troubles, one-third have access to free medication.

But the law will not be able to solve all the problems. One fundamental problem is that the magnitude of the situation is unknown. The government's figure of 16 million people with severe mental illness dates back to 1993. Private or regional epidemiological surveys put the rate at between 2 per cent and 17 per cent, depending on methodology.

'There are no good published data to show the number of people suffering from mental illness and whether it is increasing,' said the WHO's Dr Philips, whose raw data puts the rate at about 17 per cent. If the number was rising, 'one reason may be more people are willing to admit mental illness these days'. Psychologist Wang Fengliang , a marriage and family relations counsellor based in Beijing for 10 years, believed the apparent rise in the number of mental patients was the result of more people being willing to seek help.

Five years ago there were few counselling centres in the capital, he said, and often they were attached to psychiatric departments in hospitals, which relied on drugs rather than counselling. Also, the psychological counselling qualification was introduced in 2002. 'Now people recognise that you may have psychological problems, just like having the flu.'

A major part of Mr Wang's work is to give talks on improving interpersonal relationships to different communities - migrant children's parents, university students, white-collar employees, doctors and nurses - and they are almost always full.

He believes the number of mental disorders is also rising. With the economy growing at breakneck speed, pressure has become the keyword. People feel pressure to buy a house, buy a car, get a job, keep a job, compete with each other - and these pressures were absent when everything was provided by the government, Mr Wang said.

Despite the growing readiness to embrace psychological counselling, mental illness remained a taboo to many. People thought it was a hereditary problem and would affect the name of the family, he said.

Mr Wang is studying for a further degree from a United States university because he thinks the mainland's psychological consulting establishment is 20 to 30 years behind the US. For example, the training and qualification of counsellors are provided by the Ministry of Labour rather than the Ministry of Health. There is a severe shortage of social workers.

Psychiatry is not a popular course among medical graduates, many of whom fear possible danger in the work and believe they would earn less than other doctors and receive little respect.

Mental health facilities compare reasonably well with other developing countries but they have a long way to go to catch up with developed countries. The mainland has 1.12 mental health beds per 10,000 people, a figure that varies from 0.33 in Southeast Asia to eight in Europe. It has 1.46 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, while Southeast Asia has 0.2 and Europe, 9.8.

Some say the shortage is more acutely felt because of the uneven distribution of resources. 'Most of the resources are concentrated in big hospitals in the cities. They should be distributed to the communities,' said Liu Peng , a psychiatrist who left the profession after five years because of harsh work conditions and little job satisfaction.

A classmate of his working at a big Beijing mental hospital in Beijing had to see 25 patients in one morning, which meant he had less than 10 minutes with each.

'Will this achieve anything? Mental treatment heavily relies on communication between doctor and patient,' Dr Liu said.

While problems concerning resources could be resolved easily now that China had plenty of cash, Dr Philips said, reforms in 'attitude and education still have a long way to go'.

First, a change in the thinking of the government, population and mental health professionals was required to expand the concept of mental illness beyond psychosis and other acute forms; it should include alcohol abuse, depression and other anxiety disorders.

The second change was more cultural. 'For Chinese, seeking help [for emotional problems] is a sign of weakness,' Dr Philips said.