''Ankang'' () is a name shared by a number of

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

s or asylums in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The term literally means "''peace and health or 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. 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. Some patients sent to these institutions are

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s or

Falun Gong Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a new religious movement founded by its leader Li Hongzhi in China in the early 1990s. Falun Gong has its global headquarters in Dragon Springs, a compound in Deerpark, New York, United States, near t ...

practitioners. By some estimates 3,000

s are held in about 25 ''ankang'' institutions across China. Section 1d: "Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile."

List of ''ankang'' hospitals

According to the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

, there were 20 ''ankang'' hospitals in China in early 2009, which are overseen by the

Ministry of Public Security Ministry of Public Security can refer to: * Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil) * Ministry of Public Security of Burundi * Ministry of Public Security (Chile) * Ministry of Public Security (China) * Ministry of Public Security of Co ...

. * Beijing Ankang Hospital (北京市安康医院),

Fangshan District Fangshan District () is a district of the city of Beijing. It is situated in the southwest of Beijing, away from downtown Beijing. It has an area of and a population of 1,312,778 (2020 Census). The district is divided into 8 subdistricts, 14 tow ...

(1800 beds), Psychiatric facilities: yes * Chengdu Ankang Hospital (成都市安康医院)

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

(500 beds), Psychiatric facilities: yes * Hangzhou Ankang Hospital (杭州安康医院),

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

(520 beds) * Jinan Ankang Hospital/Shandong province Ankang Hospital (济南安康医院/山东省安康医院),

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

(1040 beds), Psychiatric facilities: yes * Nanjing Ankang Hospital (南京市安康医院),

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

(112 beds) * Ningbo PSB Ankang Hospital (宁波市公安局安康医院),

* Shanghai PSB Ankang Hospital (上海市公安局安康医院) * Tangshan Municipal Ankang Hospital (唐山市安康医院),

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

(150 beds) * Tianjin Municipal Ankang Hospital (天津市安康医院), Psychiatric facilities: yes * Wuan Ankang Hospital (武安市安康医院),

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

(Est 1988, 120 beds), Psychiatric facilities: yes * Xi'an Ankang Hospital (西安市安康医院),

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

(250 beds), Psychiatric facilities: yes According to an August 2022 report by

Safeguard Defenders Safeguard Defenders is a not-for profit human rights organization that monitors disappearances in China. Co-founded by Michael Caster and Peter Dahlin in June 2019 in Madrid, Spain, it operates as a private foundation. History In 2009, activis ...

, there are 25 ankang hospitals in China. 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 The Ministry of Civil Affairs ( zh, 中华人民共和国民政部) the cabinet-level executive department of the State Council of China which is responsible for social and administrative affairs. It is the 10th-ranked department in the State C ...

and of the 144 cases in the report, only four took place in an Ankang facility.

Controversies

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 The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led Demonstration (people), demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsucces ...

. He was swiftly arrested and locked up in a psychiatric hospital near Beijing, for alleged "political monomania". Following his release in 2006, Wang was examined for two days by Dr. Raes and Dr. van der Meer, 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. In 2000, Robin J. Munro drew attention when he made allegations of abuses of forensic psychiatry in China. In 2002,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

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 ngreactionary slogans, writ ngreactionary banners and reactionary letters, mak nganti-government speeches in public, and express ngopinions on important domestic and international affairs". Such individuals may be detained indefinitely in ''ankang'' centres. In August 2022,

issued an 85-page report on forced hospitalization in psychiatric hospitals between 2015 and 2021 based on 144 cases involving 99 victims. 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 Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ankang (Asylum) Human rights abuses Hospitals in China Human rights in China Political abuses of psychiatry Imprisonment and detention

List of ''ankang'' hospitals

Controversies

See also

References