A BBC Eye investigation has identified over 50 individuals, including activists, who were forcibly detained in psychiatric hospitals in China and subjected to non-consensual medical treatments, including forced medication and electric shock therapy.
Journalist Nyima Pratten interviews four people who say they were institutionalized for protesting. Among them, Junjie, a former Chinese student now in New Zealand, was detained at 18 after participating in the White Paper protests. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and held for two weeks. Another activist, ‘K,’ was arrested and hospitalized after criticizing China’s COVID-19 policies.
Despite China's 2012 Mental Health Law banning involuntary hospitalization of those who are not a danger to themselves or others, citizen journalists documented over 200 wrongful detentions before being shut down in 2017. Activist Jie Lijian, now in Los Angeles, says he was subjected to electroconvulsive therapy after being arrested for factory pay protests in 2018.
The Chinese Embassy in the UK denied allegations of illegal detentions, stating that China upholds "law-based governance."
BBC Eye’s "Troublemakers: Drugged, Framed and Detained" is available on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds, and YouTube, with a radio broadcast on BBC World Service on January 30.
China Forcibly Detains Protesters in Psychiatric Hospitals, BBC Eye Investigation Reveals
