1. Photo: CRLW
Violent Abuse During Forced Commitments
Since 2007, Zhu Yongjian has been forcibly committed five times by authorities for challenging a court decision.
Zhu said he was abused every time he was committed. 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.’”

2. Photo: CRLW
Reliving Pain in Public Protest
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 in February 2011. The message on
the ground reads, “Anyone may be ‘made mentally ill’.”

3. Photo: CRLW
False “Evidence” of Mental Illness, No Legal Recourse
A police notice indicates that Zhong Yafang had been committed for “disturbing social order” after
petitioning over a medical accident. The police committed 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 or an independent review mechanism to
wage an appeal.

4. Photo: HRCC
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.

5. Photo: CRLW
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
From Wuhan, Hubei Province, Xu Wu was detained for nearly five years in psychiatric hospitals after suing
his employer over unequal pay for iron and steel workers. Committed by Wuhan police and his employer,
Xu was held in the hospital until his escape to Guangzhou in 2011, when he 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.

6. Photo: Equality and Justice Initiative
“Consent Form to Commission Treatment”
This form was signed by Zou Yijun’s family, who forcibly brought her to Guangzhou Baiyun Psychiatric
Hospital. 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.

7. Photo: CRLW
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.

8. Photo: HRCC
Involuntary 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 was reportedly forced to take medication
against her will.

9. Photo: Equality and Justice Initiative
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 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.

10. Photo: CRLW
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.