[CHRB] New Cases of Forced Psychiatric Commitment, Detentions of Prominent Writer & Democracy Activist (9/12-18/2014)
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China Human Rights Briefing
September 12-18, 2014
Contents
Arbitrary Detention
- Under Forced Psychiatric Detention: Blogger for Over 100 Days, Activist for 1 Month
- China Democracy Party Member Detained for “Subversion,” Writer Held for Criticizing CCP Politburo Member
Arbitrary Detention
Under Forced Psychiatric Detention: Blogger for Over 100 Days, Activist for 1 Month
Two individuals—a blogger and an activist—are being involuntarily held inside psychiatric institutions, according to Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch (CRLW). Their detentions constitute a deprivation of liberty that directly violates China’s Mental Health Law, which went into effect in May 2013. It exhibits how the law has not stopped the use of involuntary psychiatric commitment as a form of reprisal against members of civil society.
The mental health ward of the Quanzhou City No. 3 Hospital, where Shi Genyuan (施根源) has been held since June 2014. (Image: CRLW)
Shi Genyuan (施根源), who posted provocative political comments online, has been forcibly committed in the mental health ward of the Quanzhou City No. 3 Hospital in Fujian Province since being seized from his home on June 3. Nurses there have said that despite Shi’s lack of consent to his detention, only Quanzhou national security officials can approve his release. After being threatened by national security officers, Shi’s family has stopped actively seeking his release nor allowed his friends to retain a lawyer for Shi. In May 2013, national security officers arrested Shi, a businessman, on a charge of “inciting subversion of state power” in retaliation for his views that he expressed online. He was released in August of last year, but not before a psychiatric evaluation was done that authorities have used to justify his current detention.[1]
In addition, activist Song Zaimin (宋再民), who went missing a month ago, is being held at Pinggu Psychiatric Hospital in Beijing. Song, a veteran of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, has faced frequent reprisals due to his rights advocacy. Last November, CHRD assessed the Mental Health Law after it had been in effect for six months, and documented several cases where activists and petitioners were still being locked up and abused inside psychiatric institutions. This spring, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled that the detention of Mr. Xing Shiku (邢世库), who has been forcibly committed since February 2007 in Heilongjiang Province, is “arbitrary,” and declared that “psychiatric detention shall not be used to jeopardize someone’s freedom of expression.”[2]
China Democracy Party Member Detained for “Subversion,” Writer Held for Criticizing CCP Politburo Member
Hangzhou police criminally detained China Democracy Party (CDP) member Chen Shuqing (陈树庆) on September 11 on suspicion of “subversion of state power,” according to Rights Defense Network. It is believed that his detention is due to activities related to the opposition political party, which was declared illegal in 1998. Authorities searched Chen’s home in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and seized a computer hard drive, a cellphone, articles, badges, and other items. Chen is being held at Hangzhou City Detention Center. In August, Chen was summoned for questioning just days after the arrest on a “subversion” charge of fellow Hangzhou-based CDP member Mr. Lü Gengsong (吕耿松). Additionally, one of the party founders, Mr. Xu Guang (徐光), was arrested for “inciting subversion” in May during the suppression around the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. Both Lü and Xu remain in detention.[3]
On September 13, several Beijing police officers took away 81-year old writer Tie Liu (铁流, whose real name is Huang Zerong, 黄泽荣), then searched his home and seized, among other materials, books and a computer. His caregiver, Ms. Huang Jing (黄静), was also taken away. They were both criminally detained the next day on suspicion of “creating a disturbance” and are being held at Beijing No. 1 Detention Center. Their lawyers tried to visit them on September 17 but were denied, with the center claiming the visit arrangements were not made in a timely enough fashion. Tie’s detention is likely in reprisal for an online essay in which he made critical remarks about ties to corruption of Politburo Standing Committee Member Liu Yunshan (刘云山), the head of the propaganda department. It is possible that police detained Huang Jing for assisting Tie in typing up his notes. An outspoken critic of the CCP, Tie Liu previously spent more than 20 years in labor camps after being labeled a “rightist” in the 1950s.[4]
Contacts:
Renee Xia, International Director (Mandarin, English), +1 240 374 8937,
Victor Clemens, Research Coordinator (English), +1 209 643 0539, victorclemens@chrdnet.com
Frances Eve, Research Assistant (English), + 1 646 801 9479, franceseve@chrdnet.com, Follow on Twitter: @FrancesEve
Follow CHRD on Twitter: @CHRDnet
[1] “Fujian Blogger Shi Genyuan Talks About Involuntary Psychiatric Commitment Process and His Latest Circumstances” (福建网友谈施根源被精神病的经过和最新情况), September 4, 2014, Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch (CRLW).
[2] “Beijing Citizen Song Zaimin Locked Up in Psychiatric Hospital” (北京公民宋再民被关精神病院), September 16, 2014, CRLW.
[3] “Zhejiang Democracy Party Member Chen Shuqing Criminally Detained” (浙江民主党人陈树庆遭刑事拘留), September 13, 2014; Sound of Hope; “Breaking News: Zhejiang Democracy Party Member Chen Shuqing’s Home Searched, Hangzhou Police Criminally Detain Him on Suspicion of Inciting Subversion of State Power” (快讯：浙江民主党人陈树庆遭抄家 被杭州警方以颠覆政府罪刑事拘留), September 11, 2014, Rights Defense Network (RDN); “Zhejiang Democracy Party Member Chen Shuqing Summoned for Questioning on Suspicion of ‘Inciting Subversion of State Power” (浙江民主党人陈树庆 被以涉“煽颠罪”传唤), August 19, 2014, CRLW.
[4] “Family of Tie Liu and Huang Jing Hire Beijing Feng Rui Law Firm for Their Defense” (铁流及黄静家人正式委托北京锋锐所为其辩护), September 17, 2014, RDN; “81-Year Old Writer Mr. Tie Liu Criminally Detained for ‘Creating a Disturbance”(八十一岁老作家铁流先生遭警方以“寻衅滋事”为由刑事拘留), September 14, 2014, RDN; “Tie Liu: Liu Yunshan in Background of Chinese News Stories on Corruption” (铁流：刘云山是中国新闻出版腐败的总后台), July 29, 2014, Canyu.org.