Recently the case of a young quadriplegic who has asked doctors to end his life made the news in China. 22 year old Hao Yun was paralyzed from the neck down in a car accident.

He says a life lying motionless in bed is unbearable and that he is simply a burden to his family. But Hao Yun's requests have been refused. Chinese law forbids "depriving another person of their life" – and legally so-called "mercy killings" are equivalent to murder. 

The debate over euthanasia has been running since 1986. Then, a man whose terminally ill mother was in great pain, persuaded a doctor to administer a lethal dose of drugs. Both he and the doctor were found guilty of murder and spent six years in detention before being released by a higher court.

The man himself then got stomach cancer. When he asked his family and doctors to help him die they refused and he died in great pain 2003.