China Law Translate

Last week's sentencing in the case of a woman living chained in China revived interest in the incident that had highlighted issues related to human trafficking, domestic violence, and mental illness.

But how many people in China are living in similar situations?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-65210833

Chained woman case: Five jailed in trafficking case that horrified China

The woman - a human trafficking victim - was found locked in a hut with a chain around her neck.

BBC News
Apr 10, 2023 at 8:34pmWeb
Show threadChina Law TranslateApr 10, 2023

Back in 2013, we translated an article estimating that in Hebei Province alone, there were 100,000 people living in chains or shackles.

https://chinalawtranslate.com/en/cage-people/

The figure was later confirmed in the state-run Global Times
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/928917.shtml

Cage People

Could 1 in 725 of all people in China's Hebei province be living in a cage? No metaphor. An actual cage. A survey by the provinces leading authorities indicate that this might be the case, but how does this happen and can the new Mental Health Law help?

China Law Translate
Show threadChina Law TranslateApr 10, 2023
That information was publicized as part of efforts to raise awareness of mental illness following the passage of the Mental Health Law and reforms to sections of the Criminal Procedure Law on involuntary commitment in the criminal law, that we discussed here:
https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/still-crazy-after-all-these-years/
Still Crazy After All These Years?

Still Crazy After All These Years:: Over a Quarter-Century after China Began Drafting its Mental Health Law, a system for regulating compulsory treatment and involuntary commitment is promulgated. This original essay with downloadable charts explains and compares China's new rules for commitment of the mentally ill.

China Law Translate
Show threadChina Law TranslateApr 10, 2023
While evidence elsewhere shows that the severely mentally ill are more likely to be victims of crimes than perpetrators, they continue to be perceived as a danger in China- despite increasing access to mental health care and more effective treatments.
Show threadFergus RyanApr 11, 2023
@Chinalawtranslate cripes, that’s a lot
Show threadChina Law TranslateApr 11, 2023
@fergusryan Shockingly so. And amazing that despite the insatiable appetite for stories about China's problems, that China "estimated 100,000 people living in cages in a single province" somehow never caught people's eye.