When Zhang Junjie was 17 years old, he made the decision to protest against regulations imposed by the Chinese government outside his university. Within a few days, he found himself admitted to a psychiatric hospital and diagnosed with schizophrenia. Junjie is just one of numerous individuals highlighted by the BBC who were hospitalized following protests or complaints to the authorities. Many of those interviewed reported being administered anti-psychotic medications and, in some instances, undergoing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) without their consent.
For years, there have been allegations that hospitalization was being utilized in China as a means to detain dissenters without involving the judicial system. Despite efforts to address this issue through legislation, the BBC has discovered that the problem has resurfaced recently. Junjie recounted being restrained and mistreated by hospital staff before being compelled to take medication.
In 2022, his troubles began when he voiced opposition to China’s stringent lockdown measures. His actions were noticed by his professors within minutes, leading to his father being informed and ultimately involving the police. On his 18th birthday, he was taken to a hospital under the guise of receiving a Covid test, although it turned out to be an involuntary hospitalization.
Recalling his experience, Junjie explained how he was deemed mentally ill due to his political opinions and restrained against his will. Following his release, he faced further challenges, including another arrest for defying a fireworks ban during Chinese New Year. Accused of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble,” Junjie was once again forcibly hospitalized for over two months.
After his release, Junjie was prescribed Aripiprazole, an anti-psychotic medication typically used for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Feeling overwhelmed by the effects of the medication and under constant surveillance by the police, Junjie made the difficult decision to flee to New Zealand to avoid further hospitalizations.
Junjie’s story is just one of many cases where individuals were involuntarily hospitalized under the guise of mental health concerns following their protests or challenging of authority in China. Despite the Mental Health Law of 2013 aiming to prevent such abuses, reports indicate a recent increase in involuntary hospitalizations, prompting concerns about the lack of oversight and civil liberties in the country.
“I have encountered numerous cases similar to this one. The authorities seek power while evading accountability,” he asserts. “Individuals who are aware of the flaws in this system can exploit it.”
Activist Jie Lijian revealed that he underwent treatment for mental illness without his consent in 2018. Lijian attempted to take legal action against the police in order to alter his medical records.
According to Lijian, he was arrested for participating in a protest advocating for better wages at a factory. He claims that he was interrogated by the police for three days before being taken to a psychiatric facility. Like Junjie, Lijian states that he was prescribed anti-psychotic medications that affected his rational thinking.
Following a week in the hospital, he refused further medication. After conflicts with the staff and being accused of causing disturbances, Lijian was subjected to Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), a procedure that involves passing electric currents through the brain of the patient. “The pain was excruciating, from head to toe. My body did not feel like my own. It was incredibly painful. Electric shock on. Then off. Electric shock on. Then off. I passed out multiple times. I felt like I was dying,” he recounts.
After 52 days, Lijian was discharged. Currently employed part-time in Los Angeles, he is seeking asylum in the US.
Viewers outside the UK can access the documentary on YouTube. In 2019, the Chinese Medical Doctor Association revised its guidelines on ECT, stipulating that it should always be administered with consent and under general anesthesia.
We aimed to delve deeper into the involvement of doctors in such cases. Speaking to foreign media like the BBC without authorization could lead to repercussions, so our sole alternative was to conduct undercover inquiries.
We arranged phone consultations with doctors from four hospitals allegedly linked to involuntary hospitalizations. Posing as individuals with a relative admitted for posting anti-government content online, we inquired if these doctors had encountered cases of patients brought in by the police. Four confirmed they had.
“One type of admission in the psychiatric department is for ‘troublemakers’,” one doctor disclosed. Another doctor, associated with the hospital where Junjie was detained, seemingly corroborated his claim that police monitored discharged patients. “The police conduct home visits to ensure medication compliance. Non-compliance may lead to further legal infractions,” they revealed.
Despite reaching out to the hospital in question for comment, we received no response. Access to the medical records of democracy activist Song Zaimin, hospitalized for the fifth time last year, illustrated the apparent association between political stances and psychiatric diagnoses.
“The patient exhibited excessive talking, incoherent speech, and criticism of the Communist Party. Consequently, he was admitted to our hospital for involuntary treatment by the police, doctors, and local residents’ committee,” the medical records noted.
Professor Thomas G Schulze, president-elect of the World Psychiatric Association, reviewed the records and stated,
In the shadows of China’s legal system, a group of courageous citizen journalists once shone a light on the abuses of the Mental Health Law. Their fearless reporting came to a sudden halt in 2017 when the founder was arrested and thrown into jail, leaving victims of injustice stranded in a system seemingly rigged against them.
Among these victims is a man known simply as Mr. Li, whose path to seeking justice took a harrowing turn in 2023. Hospitalized after daring to protest against local authorities, Mr. Li found himself thrust into a legal battle to challenge his involuntary confinement. Despite doctors initially asserting his mental well-being, an external psychiatrist, seemingly at the behest of the police, diagnosed him with bipolar disorder, leading to a 45-day ordeal behind closed doors. Upon his release, Mr. Li refused to accept the damning label forced upon him, cognizant of the far-reaching implications it could have on his future and freedom.
“If I don’t hold the police accountable, it’s akin to admitting to a false reality of being mentally unstable,” Mr. Li expressed, his resolve unwavering. In a chilling twist, China’s system allows for the sharing of mental health records with law enforcement and local committees, a tool with ominous implications for individuals like Mr. Li fighting against institutional abuse.
Yet, despite his valiant efforts, Mr. Li’s quest for justice hit a formidable roadblock when the courts summarily dismissed his appeal. His disillusionment with a system that touts the rule of law but all too easily wields power over the vulnerable is palpable. “We never envisioned being confined to the confines of a mental institution,” he lamented, echoing the sentiments of many silenced voices in a system where justice appears elusive.
The landscape of legal battles against authorities in China is a treacherous one, as revealed by a recent investigation highlighting the struggles of 112 individuals between 2013 and 2024. These brave souls sought recompense for the injustices inflicted upon them by police, local governments, and hospitals, only to find their pleas largely falling on deaf ears. A staggering 40% of these plaintiffs had previously raised complaints against the very entities they were now pitted against, underscoring the systemic hurdles faced by those daring to challenge the status quo.
The veil of censorship drapes ominously over these legal battles, with five cases conspicuously absent from official records—a chilling testament to the lengths authorities might go to silence dissent. According to Nicola MacBean of The Rights Practice, the police wield unchecked power in dealing with those branded as “troublemakers,” utilizing the guise of psychiatric confinement as a convenient tool to silence opposition.
Amidst this backdrop of systemic repression and institutionalized abuse, the plight of vlogger Li Yixue has captured the attention of a nation grappling with the erosion of personal freedoms. Yixue’s claims of police misconduct and subsequent hospitalization have reverberated across Chinese social media platforms, thrusting
