ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the recent legal reforms in relation to compulsory treatment and involuntary hospitalisation, comment on key issues from statutes and preliminary empirical findings, and put forward proposals for further reforms in these two areas. It provides an historical overview of the social understanding of mental health in China, followed by a brief introduction of relevant. The chapter focuses on the benefits and problems of the new compulsory treatment institutions, and also touches on some practical obstacles in implementing new legislation. There are two situations in which a person with mental illness may be deprived of their liberty and treated against their will in a mental health facility. The first derives from a violent act committed by a mentally ill person. The second situation involves dangerousness, where it is determined that personal safety or the safety of others is compromised because of a mental disorder.
