Suicide is the No. 1 cause of death among people aged between 15 and 34 in China, accounting for 19 percent of the deaths in this age bracket, according to Zhang Yanping, vice director of the new institute, Beijing Psychological Crises Research and Prevention Center.

Data from the Ministry of Health indicated, 3.6 percent of the deaths between 1995 and 1999 in China were suicides. Suicides among women were 25 percent higher than among men, which makes China the only country in the world that reports higher suicide cases among females than males.

The new center will launch a 24-hour hotline to help people cope with and tackle psychological problems, Zhang said.

It will record the data from the hot line calls with consent from the caller and monitor the suicides and suicide attempts in the city. It will hand in a suicide report to the municipal government every two years.

(eastday.com November 28, 2002)