Journalist Nyima Pratten has been looking into the issue for the BBC World Service…
A new investigation by BBC Eye, the investigation unit of the BBC World Service, has identified over 50 people who challenged the authorities, including political activists, that have been detained in psychiatric facilities by authorities in China. Activists have been illegally detained in these facilities against their will and subjected to medical treatments including forced medication, and in some cases, electric shock therapy.
Journalist Nyima Pratten speaks to four people who say they were forcibly detained in psychiatric units as a direct result of protesting. Junjie is a Chinese student now living in New Zealand after fleeing China. He took part in the White Paper protests, speaking out against the strict lockdown measures taken by the government. He told BBC Eye he was detained and sent to a psychiatric hospital. He was just 18.
“At that time I was so angry. Covid-19 hurt people a lot and we hoped that Xi Jinping could stop the harmful policy. So I planned to protest. The next morning, maybe, 8 o’clock, I went to stand in front of the teaching building, but I was only there for 5 minutes. Some professors in the university, noticed me and forced me into a meeting room. The university asked my father to bring me back to my hometown.”
“December 1st. My father was talking to someone on the phone and I saw a black car. There were two men, they forced me to get in the car. They sent me to the mental hospital. And the doctors told me that I had a very serious mental disease, and I had to stay there for the treatment. They said, ‘you are schizophrenic’. Each time I think about it, I feel terror.”
“Because you have your own view of the government and the Party, they said I was mentally ill. Even the nurses and doctors repeatedly told me it was because of my views of the Party and the government that I must be mentally ill.It’s terrifying. I never thought this could happen to me.”
Junjie’s medical records show he was hospitalised for two weeks, and prescribed anti-psychotic drugs.
‘K’, not his real name, says he spoke out during the pandemic. He said that the Covid-19 policy violated people’s rights and made it difficult to see a doctor or get food. He says he was then arrested and sent to a psychiatric hospital.
In 2012, China introduced new mental health legislation designed to protect patients’ rights. The Mental Health Law states that it is a violation to treat someone that is not mentally unwell. It also explicitly states that psychiatric admission must be voluntary, unless the patient is a danger to themselves or others.
To police how effectively the new law worked, a group of citizen journalists called Civil Rights and Livelihoods Watch documented ongoing abuses. Between 2013 and 2017 (when they were forced to close down), more than 200 people reported they had been wrongfully hospitalised by authorities. Despite this being illegal, there are persistent rumours China’s psychiatric facilities are still being used to detain and silence political dissidents.
‘Li’ got into trouble with the authorities when he protested by holding up a sign criticising the local police. He was detained by the police and sent to a psychiatric hospital. “At first, I felt very scared. They tied me to the bed. My hands and feet were secured.”
Li was detained for 45 days. He worries that the diagnosis he was given will affect his prospects and gives the authorities an unfair power to detain him on a whim. Many survivors claim that they were subjected to electro-shock therapy while detained in psychiatric units.
Activist Jie Lijian says it happened to him. He now lives in Los Angeles and in his spare time organises demonstrations highlighting China’s human rights abuses. “I’m a victim and survivor”, he says. “I was lucky to get out. So it’s my responsibility to help them. There are still so many people locked up.”
Jie told BBC Eye that in July 2018 he took part in factory pay protests. After he was arrested, he claims he was interrogated by police for 3 days then taken to a psychiatric hospital. “When we arrived the police said, ‘This person is very dangerous. It’s best to tighten his restraints’. They fastened me to the bed. I was very scared. The restraints were very tight. You want to move, but you can’t.”
“They had this trolley, with trays of pills on it. They gave me three kinds of medication. But taking this medicine, it turns your mind into chaos. I didn’t have any strength.” Jie said that after a week in the hospital, he refused to take any more drugs and fought with hospital staff. He was told he was causing trouble and was being sent for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
“They fastened everything. They put two electrodes on my head. They applied some gel. They fixed the equipment to me. With one electric shock, the pain was from head to toe. My body didn’t feel like it was mine. It was really painful. Electric shock on and off. I lost consciousness several times. I felt like I was dying”, Li tells BBC Eye.
ECT is an internationally accepted treatment for a small number of mental illnesses. However, studies from China show that rates of ECT use are many times higher than other parts of the world. In 2019, China introduced new measures to limit its use, stating that it should only be administered with consent and under general anaesthetic.
Jie said he was discharged from the psychiatric hospital after 52 days. He fled China in 2018 without his medical records, so BBC Eye has not been able to verify his account.
A spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in the UK told BBC Eye: “Law-based governance is a fundamental principle of China. Last year the Central Committee of the CCP reaffirmed that we must improve the mechanisms for ensuring that all are equal before the law. The law explicitly prohibits unlawful detention and other methods of illegally depriving or restricting citizens’ personal freedom.”
BBC Eye, Troublemakers: Drugged, Framed and Detained is now available to stream on the BBC World Service’s YouTube channel. In the UK, the investigation is also available on BBC iPlayer. The investigation will also air on BBC World Service radio on the 30th of January on The Documentary strand and will be available on BBC Sounds.
