Murder at the 'reboot' camps

By Lan Tian in Beijing and Zhu Yanting in Guangxi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-12 10:03

Tao Ran, director of the Beijing Military Region General Hospital's addiction center and Juvenile Psychological Growth Base of China, the country's first IA rehab clinic, said tougher regulations to tighten IA controls are vital to prevent further tragic deaths.

"Internet addiction is a mental disorder and can only be cured through the use of proper medical treatment," insisted the 47-year-old doctor. "More than 40 percent of IA patients show symptoms of attention deficit, hyperactivity, depression or anxiety.

"But most IA recovery clinics are run by schools or education institutes without the right level of medical knowledge. Rather than treat, counselors at these camps punish and even beat youngsters when they display symptoms they are not trained to deal with correctly."

Since being jointly founded by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and Beijing Military Region General Hospital in 2004, Tao's clinic has treated around 5,000 juveniles, including youths sent there from the United States and Germany.

He said it is currently treating almost 100 IA addicts, 90 percent of whom were boys aged 15 to 18. A three-month program costs 25,200 yuan, with each patient receiving a "comprehensive therapy" that includes military training, psychological counseling or medication. Parents also receive help in communication.

"About 50 percent of addicts can be cured with a routine of psychological counseling and physical exercise," Tao explained, "but the clinics' psychiatrists will prescribe medication to those suffering depression, anxiety or hyperactivity. This group cannot be cured without medical treatment.

"People think a mental disorder only refers to insanity but actually it includes addictions to alcohol, gambling and the Internet. Meanwhile, scientists have found many Net addicts have a metabolic disturbance in their brain's temporal lobe."

Qi Wenbin, 17, is 47 days into his treatment for IA at the Juvenile Psychological Growth Base of China, based at a barracks in the capital's southeastern Daxing district. "I already feel less depressed and a lot fitter," he said as he stood head to toe in camouflage during a break from a marching exercise.

The boarding school student from Guiyang, Guizhou province, saw his exam scores plummet from the top 300 among 1,700 pupils to 1,600th after he became hooked on online gaming.

"Before I arrived at the camp I was pale and wan from a lack of sleep and hours playing video games. I felt empty and I didn't feel I was able to talk to my parents," he said. "But when I was playing online games I could forget everything, the pressure of my studies, parents' expectations rankings, an uncertain future "

Qi's daily routine now consists of two hours of counseling with a psychologist in the morning, an afternoon of military drills and an evening of relaxed entertainment away from a computer screen.

"Many adolescents turn to the cyberworld when they fail exams, fall out with their parents over their school performance or find it difficult to get on with classmates," added Jiang at the New Taste Family Education Institute, which helps youngsters beat IA with exercises in confidence-building and communication. "The Internet is like a shelter offering them protection and safety."

No international consensus has so far been reached about whether Net addiction is a psychological disorder, with the World Health Organization still no closer to a clear understanding of the condition.

An article published in United States-based Science Magazine last month revealed the American Psychiatric Association panel may include IA in the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 2012.

No matter the cause of the condition, most experts agree that "punishment therapies" are not the way to cure it.

"IA cannot be cured by just one kind of approach because the causes are very complex. So all kinds of scientific approaches should be tried before a nationwide diagnostic standard is released," said Xia Lingxiang. "But extreme approaches are totally unacceptable."

Jiang, who was one of 20 directors of IA recovery institutes who met this year as part of a campaign to halt the use of extreme measures, added: "The domestic IA recovery sector is still in its early stages but the government must ban 'punishment education'. It just causes more damage to a young person's body and mind."

The news has come too late for the family of Deng Senshan.

"We just hope the government will find the reason behind my nephew's death," said uncle Li Jian. "We need to know exactly what happened during the 14 hours between him arriving at the camp and his death.

"We hope his murderers will be punished severely."

Shan Juan contributed to the story

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