Eradicating a "Mental Illness"

Uighurs coming out of Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, Xinjiang

 The Chinese government is spinning the incarceration of Uighurs in detention centres in Xinjiang,  saying their belief in Islam needs to be treated as a mental illness. As a result they need to be treated multiple times, not just once, and for months at a time.

That's the latest report from The Atlantic, that also says some one million people are being sent to these "reeducation camps" where they are forced to sing propaganda songs and learn Mandarin, and some media reports have even talked about forcing these ethnic minority Muslims to eat pork and drink alcohol.

While the authorities describe the camps are "schools", they are also being described as "hospitals".

Women waking down the street in Kashgar

In a WeChat message to Uighurs, an excerpt of an official Communist Party audio recording says:

Members of the public who have been chosen for reeducation have been infected by an ideological illness. They have been infected with religious extremism and violent terrorist ideology, and therefore they must seek treatment from a hospital as an inpatient... The religious extremist ideology is a type of poisonous medicine, which confuses the mind of the people... If we do not eradicate religious extremism at its roots, the violent terrorist incidents will grow and spread all over like an incurable malignant tumour.

Sounds serious doesn't it? Except the message is making assumptions about people's devotion to their religion.

By calling religious extremism an "ideological illness", it gives the government (in its mind) the moral authority to lock people up for months at a time, and as many as it warrants is necessary.

Police officers have confirmed to Radio Free Asia that they have been ordered to meet specific population quotas in rounding up people for these camps. In one township, 40 percent of the local population was locked up.

"It's being treated as a mental illness that's never guaranteed to be completely cured, like addiction or depression," says Timothy Grose, a China expert at the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. "There's something mentally wrong that needs to be diagnosed, treated -- and followed up with."

The above mentioned recording from the Communist Party justifies the need for continual treatment:

There is always a risk that the illness will manifest itself at any moment, which would cause serious harm to the public. that is why they must be admitted to a reeducation hospital in time to treat and cleanse the virus from their brain and restore their normal mind... Being infected by religious extremism and violent terrorist ideology and not seeking treatment is like being infected by a disease that has not been treated in time, or like taking toxic drugs... There is no guarantee that it will not trigger and affect you in the future.

There are intimidating police patrols around Xinjiang

Having gone through reeducation and recovered form the ideological disease doesn't mean that one is permanently cured... So, after completing the reeducation process in the hospital and returning home... they must remain vigilant, empower themselves with the correct knowledge, strengthen their ideological studies, and actively attend various public activities to bolster their immune system.

Adrian Zenz, a researcher at the European School of Culture and Theology in Germany equates what is going on in Xinjiang with how the government dealt with Falun Gong practitioners in the early 2000s by reeducating them in labour camps.

"Falun Gong was also treated like a dangerous addiction... But in Xinjiang this [rhetoric] is certainly being pushed to the next level," he says. "The explicit link with the addictive effect of religion is being emphasized possibly in an unprecedented way."

US-based Uighur academic from Xinjiang Tahir Imin isn't surprised by the government equating Islam with mental illness. He believes this is the authorities' way of eradicating ethnic Muslim minorities and forcing them to assimilate with the Han Chinese.

In the end this is the government's way of dealing with extremists -- by eradicating what it thinks is religious extremism through extreme power.

Hong Kong Must Protect Children

A memorial for five-year-old Chan Sui-lam who suffered horrific child abuse

In recent days Hong Kong has been reeling from a shocking child abuse case that led to the death of a five-year-old girl.

Chan Sui-lam was allegedly thrown at the ceiling many times and poked in the chest with scissors at home. Her father, 26, is a transport worker, and stepmother, 27, a housewife, were both charged with murder last Monday.

But this was not the only incident -- four more cases of child abuse were reported in three days, and parents and foster parent were arrested.

The Social Welfare Department's Child Protection Registry has 2016 figures that show 107 of 892 incidents of child abuse against children under the age of 18 took place is the New Territories, followed by 102 in Kwun Tong, 85 in Tuen Mun and 77 in Kwai Tsing.

But social welfare workers believe this is only the tip of the iceberg. A study by the University of Hong Kong from 10 years ago estimated about 70,000 children were subjected to "severe violence", or corporal punishment by the parents each year and these cases were most always unreported.

Social workers say stress factors like financial hardship, estranged relationships, living in small quarters like sub-divided flats, and for new immigrants, the struggle to integrate in Hong Kong can lead to parents taking their frustrations out on their children.

Lee Yu-po, service manager at Against Child Abuse, said the districts with higher numbers of child abuse cases had more low-income families.

"Many live in cubicle apartments... they might not be able to rest properly and the tight living space could also result in more family conflicts."

Also, of the low-income families, some are immigrants, mostly from the mainland, who may be poorer and less educated.

"Some new immigrants tend to have a more traditional Chinese mindset, thinking that beating a child is part of their upbringing," says social worker Raymond Fung Hing-kau.

Other traits of abusers include drug addiction, mental health problems, teenage pregnancy and a history of being abused.

Guidance and counselling on issues such as home safety, managing emotions and taking are of children are being advocated, but there aren't enough resources for these services done by volunteers.

Child protection advocates also say the government isn't tough enough on abusers, and that other adults should be empowered to rescue children from these dangerous situations.

Then there is the problem of not enough social workers in schools to help identify cases -- they are underpaid and the turnover rate is high at 30 percent. Because of the heavy workload, the social workers end up prioritizing cases that seem more serious.

In addition teachers aren't equipped to deal with child abuse cases -- currently the guidebook is 300 pages long -- and advocates say there needs to be clearer guidelines.

And then strangely, because kindergarten education is not compulsory, there is no need for the bureau to follow up on cases where a child has been missing classes.

So it seems Hong Kong has many holes in the system that need patching up, but advocates say it's also just as important for neighbours, relatives and friends to step up if they see something wrong.

There has been talk for years of having a child advocate for the city and it's about time the government appoint someone to carefully look at this sad and horrific issue from top to bottom and put children's needs and safety first.

Why Stress Out our Children?

Children in Hong Kong are stressed out as well as their parents

It's shocking to discover Hong Kong children are more stressed out than ever, particularly concerned about their academic performance, followed by trying to meet their parents' expectations.

The Hong Kong Paediatric Society and the Hong Kong Paediatric Foundation released a damning report today saying children are suffering a worrying decline in their mental health in the past decade that is pushing their parents to a breaking point.

"There was no designated section for children in the [chief executive] policy addresses, not to mention a comprehensive child health policy and the children's commission," foundation chairman Dr Chan Chok-wan said.

The emphasis on academics is the main reason for their stress

The report said the government failed to tackle the "root causes" of declining mental health among young people, and this resulted in a "vicious cycle" in which parents are pushed to the brink of emotional breakdowns.

In the report that included surveys that asked 1,300 parents what they thought their kindergarten and primary school-aged children were stressed out about. Sixty percent of respondents said academic performance, followed by parental expectations at 50 percent. High self expectations was next at 38 percent, and socializing with friends was 26 percent.

About 70 percent of the parents admitted suffering from emotional problems as a result of childcare pressures, while almost two-thirds of parents had insomnia due to the same reasons.

Eighty-eight percent of the parents reported not getting enough support from the government.

Meanwhile the average number of child suicides is about 23 since 2010, though it increases after temporary government measures are stopped.

Leung Chai-yan has had her battle with mental illness too

Chan criticized Hong Kong's last three chief executives for "not being effective nor directional" on child welfare policies to improve the situation, and suggested Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was the worst.

This is ironic considering his adult daughter Leung Chai-yan has been suffering from mental health issues; she was in a hospital in Sha Tin a few months ago, though there is no recent word on her status.

The foundation chairman also repeated calls for the government to have a dedicated children's commission to advocate for child welfare issues, but thinks the government would not do this because it would lead to stricter guidelines.

"There is also a perceived manpower constraint. But the children's commission would be the one which would deal with all these affairs. The money used would be much better utilized. That in the long run is the best way to handle this issue," Chan said.

There have been calls for a children's commission for many years now -- how much longer do we have to wait? It is quite obvious the education system is stressing out children and their parents rather than making learning fun and educational.

Hong Kong also doesn't have enough child psychologists to diagnose issues in children to give them timely therapy. And there is too much emphasis on academics than giving children more freedom and space to play and relax.

Are we at a breaking point now, or do we have to wait until there's a spike in child suicides before the government does anything?

Hong Kong's "McSleepers"

An elderly woman sleeps at a branch of McDonald's

Last month, a woman in her 50s or 60s was found dead in a McDonald's in Ping Shek Estate, in Kowloon Bay, 24 hours after she entered the fast-food restaurant.

The shock of the discovery has sparked renewed calls to help these so-called "McRefugees", or "McSleepers", because they have no place to go, and the 24-hours McDonald's restaurants are a good option because they are warm and clean.

Social workers have been trying to bring attention of these homeless people to the Hong Kong government, but it still refuses to acknowledge these people need help because they consider them to have roofs over their heads -- albeit temporary ones.

As a result the government says it only has some 800 homeless people in the city, whereas social workers believe it's at least double that.

A woman was found dead in a McDonald's in Kowloon Bay

These homeless people have little or no income, and are forced between choosing to pay for expensive rents but starve, or live on the streets and have some food, and many pick the latter option.

"A subdivided flat of just 30 sq ft in Sham Shui Po would cost you HK$2,000 ($258) a month to rent these days," says Lee Tai-shing, chief community organizer for the Concerning Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and Low Income Alliance.

The Social Welfare Department offers short-term hostel placement, employment guidance, and emergency funds to cover short-term rent payments and other living expenses.

While it's nice to know the department will help out financially in a pinch, temporary housing is not the answer for these homeless people.

And so social workers are calling on the government to impose rent controls so landlords cannot sharply raise the rent every year.

When interviewed, one "McSleeper" said he used to live in a sub-divided flat in Sham Shui Po for HK$1,000, but then it became too expensive and dirty, whereas coming to McDonald's was at least "clean and nice".

The 48-year-old is a cleaner who also gets partial Comprehensive Social Security Assistance for low-income adults, and so he can have a monthly income of HK$6,000 to HK$10,000 depending on how many hours of work he can get.

Subdivided flats are expensive and cramped, dirty too

He has slept in a Sham Shui Po McDonald's for four years now and finds the location convenient, as his job is unstable and where he gets assigned to work changes frequently.

Although he has been offered public rental housing three times, he has refused each time, as the location is in an inaccessible area that transportation costs would be high.

While Sham Shui Po and Tai Kok Tsui have been areas with cheap housing, the government has been gentrifying these areas, making housing more expensive for people who are scraping a living.

A bed space costs HK$1,800 to over HK$2,000, while a sub-divided room can cost HK$3,000.

Social workers have lobbied the government to set aside social housing and communal areas for these low-income people, but people have the "not in my backyard" mentality.

However, when people are given a place to sleep and keep their possessions, earn a living and be able to maintain a sense of dignity, it gives these people hope, and helps them not only to socialize with others, but also makes them feel a part of the community.

Isolation, says social workers, is the real root of the homelessness problem.

"It's okay in the first year or two of rough sleeping, but stepping into the fourth and fifth year, it's hard not to have some sort of mental issues as well as other illnesses," says Wong Hung, associate professor in social work at Chinese University.

We go back to what Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah said earlier, that HK12,000 was too much to pay for a dishwasher.

Has he and his colleagues visited these "McSleepers" and asked them how much they need to live a dignified life? The minimum would probably be HK$12,000 if not more.

And why is he sitting on trillions of dollars in reserves when we have at least 1,500 homeless people who need shelter, and over a million others who cannot afford to buy enough food to eat each day?

We pay taxes for a good reason -- to help those in need.

We are a rich city, and yet the buck stops with Tsang, for no good reason.

We ask again -- why is he our Financial Secretary?