Using Data Visualization in Public Health Communications
The Darkest Corners - Image Gallery
1. “The Darkest Corners”:
Abuses of Involuntary Psychiatric Commitment in China
Image Gallery by Chinese Human Rights Defenders
2. Violent Abuse Suffered During
Forced Commitments
Since 2007, Zhu Yongjian, a petitioner
from Jiangsu Province, has been
forcibly committed five times by
government authorities for challenging
a court decision. Zhu told Civil Rights
and Livelihood Watch (CRLW) that he
was diagnosed with “paranoia” and
was abused every time he was brought
to the hospital. For example, Zhu
revealed that during his fourth
detention, “they forcibly inserted a
nasal tube and forced the medication
through. After the medicine has gone
down, my throat was very painful. This
happened twice…later, I quit and went
on a hunger strike, but they gave me
an intravenous drip. The nurse said,
‘You want to die? It’s not that easy .’”
(credit: CRLW)
3. False “Evidence” of Mental Illness,
No Legal Recourse
A police notice indicates that Zhong
Yafang had been involuntarily committed
for “disturbing social order” at a
psychiatric hospital in Hangzhou, where
she was detained for nearly 20 months
after petitioning over a medical accident.
The police institutionalized Zhong after
asking a hospital to conduct an
evaluation of her mental health status
and obtaining “evidence” of her mental
illness. Like all those involuntarily
committed in China, Zhong had no access
to a judge and an independent review
mechanism to wage an appeal. She was
held in the hospital until July 2011.
(credit: CRLW)
4. Illegally Committed for Seeking Explanation Over Job Loss
Officials in Wuhan, Hubei Province illegally detained Liu Caixia in the psychiatric ward
of the Huashan Town Health Clinic in 2010. Liu was seized while petitioning in Beijing
after losing her accountant position at a university without any formal explanation.
(credit: HRCC)
5. Reliving Pain in Public Protest
In July 2011, former patient Chen Guoming carried out a protest in a Beijing park to
raise public awareness about China’s involuntary commitment system. Chen reenacted
the experience of his family members binding him with tape and taking him against his
will to a psychiatric hospital. The message on the ground reads, “Anyone may be
‘made mentally ill’.” (credit: Equity & Justice Initiative)
6. Over Five Years of Illegal
Commitment Exposed
From Wuhan, Hubei Province, Xu Wu
was illegally detained for nearly five
years in psychiatric hospitals after
suing his employer over unequal pay
for iron and steel workers. In 2006,
while petitioning authorities in Beijing,
he was caught by Wuhan police
officers and staff from his company.
They committed Xu in the hospital
until Xu’s escape to Guangzhou in
2011, and he then appeared on a
television program and talked about
his ordeal. Xu’s story generated
widespread concern in China for the
abuses of the involuntary commitment
system. (credit: CRLW)
7. Pleading for Help From Outside
World
Calling out for help from a
psychiatric hospital, Peng Yongkang
was petitioning in Beijing when
officials forcibly took her back to
Wuhan in March 2008 and
institutionalized her. She is
currently being held in Wuhan City
Jiangxia District Chukang
Psychiatric Hospital. (credit: CRLW)
8. Illegal Commitment, Forced Medication
Petitioner Li Yuqing of Inner Mongolia was held for nearly a month in a psychiatric
hospital after expressing a grievance in Beijing in the summer of 2011. While detained,
Li, who does not have any mental illness, was reportedly forced to take medication
against her will. (credit: HRCC)
9. Forcibly Committed by Family
This “Consent Form to Commission
Treatment” from Guangzhou Baiyun
Psychiatric Hospital was signed by Zou
Yijun’s mother and brother, who
kidnapped and forcibly brought her to
the institution. The hospital allowed
Zou’s family to act as her “guardian” to
authorize her admittance and
treatment even though Zou has never
been declared legally incompetent by a
court. According to the form, if a
patient dies or is injured for reasons
related to “the particularity of
psychiatric treatment,” the “guardian”
agrees that the hospital should bear no
responsibility. Variants of this form are
widely used by China’s psychiatric
hospitals. On this form, Zou’s family
made up the name “Han Li” for her.
10. No Legal Capacity Leads to
Unsuccessful Lawsuit After
Involuntary Commitment
In April 2008, after Zhou Mingde was beaten unconscious and taken to the Shanghai
Psychiatric Hospital by the hospital’s staff as well as his wife and son, he was held there
against his will for 66 days for “paranoia.” Zhou later sued the hospital, but a court ruled
that Zhou’s legal capacity to act as plaintiff was questionable because he was
hospitalized and diagnosed with a mental illness. Chinese courts sometimes assume that
individuals with psychosocial disabilities have no legal capacity, and thus deny them the
right to sue hospitals and individuals who authorize involuntary commitment.
11. Psychiatric Institution in Hubei Province
A number of individuals whose cases are mentioned in CHRD’s report have been
detained in Wudong No.2 Psychiatric Hospital in Wuhan City. (credit: CRLW)