China: a suicide every 2 minutes...

A TWO-year-old boy was orphaned in the southwest Chinese city of Chongzhou when his parents drank pesticide after a nasty row.

The tragedy, reported in the state media last month, bears testimony to the dark side of reform - suicide rates that are now among the highest in the world. 

On average, a Chinese person takes his or her own life every two minutes, giving the world's most populous nation a dismal record as it prepares to celebrate 30 years of otherwise spectacular economic reform. 

"With the reforms, society has become more complicated,'' said Huo Datong, the first psychoanalyst to practise in China. More...

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