Psychiatrists Condemn China for Deaths and Torture in Mental Hospitals

GENEVA, April 10--Psychiatrists from the United States and Britain held a press conference today in Geneva to condemn China's use of psychiatry for political purposes. They focused on such abuse of Falun Gong practitioners, some of which has resulted in deaths. This was particularly timely, as the United Nations Human Rights Commission is in session in Geneva.

Dr. Sunny Lu, a psychiatrist and Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati, cited more than 43 psychiatric institutions in China that have engaged in psychiatric abuse, including 5 in Beijing. She stated that "the Chinese government uses police to control psychiatric facilities in order to coerce Falun Gong adherents into renouncing their beliefs." Dr. Lu continued by saying that "Over 1,000 mentally healthy Falun Gong adherents have been incarcerated and abused in mental hospitals. This is a far greater number of cases than the World Psychiatry Association cited in its investigation in Communist Russia."

Dr. Lu cited one case--that of 32-year-old computer engineer Su Gang--who was forcibly committed to a mental institution. He was given overdoses of psychiatric drugs to the point of death.

Dr. Declan Lyons, of the Royal College of Physicians of London and the Royal College of Psychiatrists of England, spoke of the use of psychiatry in China as an agent of social control. Dr. Lyons stated that "at least 3 deaths have been reported as a direct consequence of this treatment." He called on the Chinese government "to protect the rights of Chinese citizens to exercise religious freedoms without fear of psychiatric labeling or incarceration." Dr. Lyons is a long-time supporter of human rights, and has been an active member of Amnesty International for 18 years.

The renowned Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry issued a statement for the conference. This non-governmental organization was instrumental in ending the political abuse of psychiatry in the former USSR. The Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry stated that in China, "There are approximately 20 Ankang ["Peace and Health"] Institutes and the staff there is employed by the Ministry of Public Security, similar to the Special Psychiatric Hospitals in the USSR. Psychiatrists who work there wear white coats over their military uniforms."

Falun Gong practitioners from Germany, Canada, and Australia were invited to share their horrific stories about psychological torture and forced drug intake. They included Zhang Kunlun, a Professor of Art and Canadian citizen, who was detained in a Chinese labor camp for 3 months, where he experienced severe physical and mental torture. He stated that, "The pain remains vivid, and the memories haunting. That period of time was the darkest in my life, almost like an experience of hell. There is nothing I would rather recall less, yet I come before you today so that you may know the truth. I endure this pain again so that there may be justice." In the past several years, about the resolution to censure China for its human rights violations, China always introduced a "no action" motion. This year the UN Human Rights Commission is scheduled to vote on its motion on April 18. In recent weeks, the Chinese leadership has come under increasing fire from Western governments and human rights advocates.