Ankang (Chinese: 安康) is a name shared by a number of psychiatric hospitals or asylums in China. The term literally means "peace and health [for the mentally ill]". Many of these institutions are prison-hospitals for holding prisoners judged to be mentally ill, and operate directly under the local Public Security Bureau.[1] As a result, "ankang" is sometimes used in the Western press to denote the system of prison-hospitals in China. However, not all ankang hospitals are prison-hospitals, and some offer conventional psychiatric and medical treatment services.
According to an August 2022 report by Safeguard Defenders, there are 25 ankang hospitals in China.[15] In addition to these ankang facilities, the police also make use of general psychiatric facilities run by China's Ministry of Health and Ministry of Civil Affairs and of the 144 cases in the report, only four took place in an Ankang facility.[15]
Controversiesedit
Wang Wanxing, a prominent democracy activist with a history of anti-government protest, was again arrested on June 4, 1992, when he unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square on the third anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He was swiftly arrested and locked up in a psychiatric hospital near Beijing, for alleged "political monomania".[16] Following his release in 2006, Wang was examined for two days by Dr. Raes and Dr. van der Meer[clarification needed], who said in a statement: "He was not suffering from any mental disorder that could justify his admission." Human Rights Watch says it has documented 3,000 cases of psychiatric punishment of political dissidents since the early 1980s.[17]
In 2000, Robin J. Munro drew attention when he made allegations of abuses of forensic psychiatry in China.[18] In 2002, Human Rights Watch and the Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry issued a report which alleged that Chinese dissidents, independent labour organisers, whistle-blowers and individuals who complain about official misconduct have been labelled "political maniacs" and locked up in mental hospitals simply for opposing the government. Symptoms of "political mania" as defined by the police include "shout[ing] reactionary slogans, writ[ing] reactionary banners and reactionary letters, mak[ing] anti-government speeches in public, and express[ing] opinions on important domestic and international affairs". Such individuals may be detained indefinitely in ankang centres.[19][20]
In August 2022, Safeguard Defenders issued an 85-page report on forced hospitalization in psychiatric hospitals between 2015 and 2021 based on 144 cases involving 99 victims.[21] Almost a third of the 99 victims had been sent to psychiatric facilities two or more times. Once inside, victims may stay there for months, even years. Nine victims have been inside for ten or more years. According to the report, victims are mostly petitioners and activists.[21]
^"The Ankang: China's Special Psychiatric Hospitals". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
^"China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)". 2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practice. United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 25 February 2004. Retrieved 17 November 2008. Section 1d: "Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile."
^"2008 Human Rights Report: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)". United States Department of State. 25 February 2009. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009. "Respect for Human Rights" Section 1c: Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
^Beijing Ankang Hospital Archived 2007-08-21 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 2007-10-29, "医院占地面积12.17万平方米,建筑面积4.707万平方米,绿化面积4.26万平方米;开设床位1800张(精神科800张、戒毒中心1000张)。 医院现有在职职工510人,其中各类专业技术人员372人;高级专业技术职务24人,中级技术职务124人;硕士3人,大专以上学历264人。"
^Xian Ankang Hospital[permanent dead link], Retrieved 2007-10-29
^ ab"Drugged and Detained: China's Psychiatric Prisons" (PDF). safeguarddefenders.com. August 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
^In the grip of the Ankang, The Guardian, December 20, 2005
^Joseph Kahn, Sane Chinese Put in Asylum, Doctors Find, March 17, 2006
^Sunny Y. Lu & Viviana B. Galli, "Psychiatric Abuse of Falun Gong Practitioners in China", The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 30:126–30, 2002
^John Gittings, China 'sending dissidents to mental hospitals, The Guardian, August 13, 2002
^McDonald, Hamish (November 7, 2005). "Former inmate tells of torture". The Age. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
^ ab"Drugged and Detained: China's Psychiatric Prisons" (PDF). safeguarddefenders.com. August 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2023.