BEIJING, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- About 250,000 Chinese die of suicide each year, making suicide a leading cause of death for Chinese people, according to an expert on mental health.

    Suicide is the number one cause of death for Chinese people aged between 15 and 34, said Michael R. Philips, China representative of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and a consultant with the Mental Health Department of the World Health Organization, here at World Suicide Prevention Day which falls on Sept. 10.

    He said at least two million patients go to a hospital each year after being injured in an attempted suicide. Only 10 percent of them had previously received professional psychiatric treatment.

    "If only they had had a little hope, they wouldn't have committed suicide," said the professor, citing from a global survey that 99 percent of people have ambivalent thoughts when committing suicide

    Measures should be taken to prevent teenage suicide, he said, adding that the government should enhance education to improve young people's ability to adapt to a changing society and to deal with frustration.

    According to the Changsha Evening Newspaper, the first psychological intervention center was founded recently in central China's Hunan Province, and has recruited one hundred volunteers from 50 cities across the country.

    Since the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge was completed in 1968, about 2,000 people have jumped into the river from the bridge in an attempt to commit suicide, according to the Oriental Morning Post.

    The theme of this year's World Suicide Prevention Day (Sept. 10) is "with understanding, new hope," calling on people to help those who attempt to commit suicide to find hope in living. Enditem