Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China – A woman named Li Yixue from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, has been sent to a mental hospital twice for reporting being sexually harassed by the police, sparking widespread attention both domestically and internationally. On January 11, the Xihu District of Nanchang issued a lengthy notice stating that Li Yixue was diagnosed as having “severe mental disorders” and was assessed as level 3 in terms of dangerousness, causing outrage online.
According to the notice from Xihu District, on January 4, a panel of experts from the Jiangxi Rongjun Comforting Hospital ultimately diagnosed and evaluated Li Yixue as suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, specific phobia disorder, and personality disorder, deeming her condition as “severe mental disorder” and assessing her as level 3 in terms of dangerousness. The Rongjun Comforting Hospital recommended that Li Yixue be hospitalized for treatment, but she and her father refused. On January 6, Li Yixue’s father requested to take her home from the hospital, and after completing the discharge procedures on January 10, they took Li Yixue home from the hospital.
The notice stated that the local “Community Mental Health Comprehensive Management Team” would require Li Yixue’s father to fulfill his caregiving responsibilities.
In addition, the notice mentioned that after an investigation, the Xihu Public Security Sub-Bureau determined that Lai did not commit any indecent acts against Li Yixue and decided not to file a case on December 14, 2022.
Concerning the forced hospitalization of Li Yixue, the notice claimed that on April 21, 2022, at 11 pm, Li Yixue went to Yingshi Plaza on Ding Road and threatened to commit suicide, with no family members present. Officer Zhao, after weighing pros and cons and consulting with the station chief Wang, signed his name in the “Family Signature” section of the hospital’s “Inpatient Treatment Informed Consent Form.”
However, according to the renowned Chinese psychiatric authority Professor Yue Hongwen, who had previously stated at a medical seminar that based on Li Yixue’s videos, her logic is very clear. “Li Yixue does not have a personality disorder; she is a very normal young woman with limited social experience and a somewhat strong personality. Therefore, this diagnosis is incorrect.” Li Yixue would not harm others or herself.
Publicly available information and Yue Hongwen’s self-introduction reveal that he is a clinical doctorate graduate of the Beijing Union Medical College, a postdoctorate of the Johns Hopkins Medical School in the United States, having worked in clinical practice for over thirty years, proficient in both clinical and psychiatric medicine.
Yue Hongwen pointed out that the diagnosis of personality disorders in China has not been around for less than ten years, so the Chinese psychiatric field is not clear on the diagnosis and clinical work of personality disorders from Western philosophy and psychology.
Following the official announcement, it immediately sparked numerous netizen doubts. “Are they blind? Wasn’t it Lai who booked the hotel room and took Li Yixue there?” “A auxiliary police officer stayed alone with a suspected female psychiatric patient in a hotel room all night; how can the police unequivocally prove there was no indecency!”
“Some people said, a single statement cannot be trusted. If the notice wants to gain public credibility, then Li Yixue’s neighbors should come forward to testify. If what the notice says about Li Yixue is true, then the entire community should be aware, and all residents should come forward as witnesses to gain the trust of Chinese netizens.”
“Present the evidence; baseless accusations are equivalent to slander.”
“Forcibly sending someone to a mental hospital is said to be in accordance with the law and regulations?” “Even if she has a mental illness, she needs the consent of her family to be admitted for treatment.” “No explanation can justify the illegal act of sending someone to a mental hospital without the consent of family members.”
Others questioned, “Where is she? When did she come out?” “I’ll only believe it when she appears in person.” “I’ve never heard of a ‘Community Mental Health Comprehensive Management Team’ at the neighborhood level before.” “They just went around in circles, and in the end, everything was dealt with through standard procedures, and the responsibility was gone.” “It’s heartbreaking.” “Focusing on the wrong point; when will the hospital be sued?” “When will the lawsuit go to trial?”
Li Yixue, a woman in her early twenties from Jiangxi, graduated from Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics. In April 2022, she accused a police officer with the surname Lai of sexually harassing her and was forcibly admitted to a mental hospital by the Ding Road Police Station of Xihu Sub-bureau of Nanchang Public Security Bureau for 56 days of so-called “treatment.” After being discharged, Li Yixue sued the Jiangxi Provincial Mental Hospital for “medical liability disputes” and exposed online her experiences of being “sexually harassed by the auxiliary police officer from the Ding Road Police Station and being detained in a mental hospital,” causing widespread attention.
On December 6, 2022, the first trial of the case took place but has not been pronounced for two years.
On December 14, 2024, Li Yixue posted the last two videos on Douyin platform. One video said that the director of the Chopstick Lane Police Station led more than ten people to break into her home, damaging the surveillance camera at the entrance. The other video was a plea to netizens for help, saying, “Save me, they are too scary, more than ten men are confronting me.” After that, she completely disappeared.
Before her disappearance, in the video, Li Yixue mentioned that the viewership of her videos has exceeded 1 billion. If she still cannot win her lawsuit, then there will be no hope for all the victims across China who have been persecuted and sent to mental hospitals.
However, under the intense public scrutiny, Li Yixue was once again sent to a mental hospital.
According to the notification issued by the Xihu Sub-bureau of Nanchang Public Security Bureau and the Nanpu Street Office of Xihu District on December 22, the Beijing Anding Hospital diagnosed Li Yixue with obsessive-compulsive disorder and personality disorder, and the community street office “sent her for consultation in accordance with the law and regulations” on that day.
Li Yixue being sent twice into psychiatric hospitals by the Chinese Communist authorities has attracted widespread attention both domestically and internationally, with various voices of support continuing.
On December 29, during the live broadcast of the South Korean plane crash incident on CCTV-13, Chinese netizens flooded the chat room with “Free Li Yixue.” On December 30, several netizens set out to find Li Yixue, and at the building where Li Yixue’s family lived, they found a large number of plainclothes security personnel surrounding Li Yixue’s home, and stainless steel doors were being added to the unit downstairs, requiring an access card for entry and exit.
Many netizens expressed their sorrow, realizing that even with over 1 billion views, the attention and support were not enough to save Li Yixue.