Drugged, tied up and locked up for six months: Inside China's drastic 'concentration rehab camp' for net-junkie youths glued to gaming and the web for six hours a day

• MailOnline was allowed inside the China Young Mental Development Base 
• Beijing rehab centre treats teenagers like soldiers with padlocked dorms
• Symptoms of internet addiction include spending six hours a day online
• There are estimates that up to 24 million Chinese youths have the disorder 
• Staff also try to 'cure' patients of their sexuality with pro-straight classes 

By Jamie Fullerton In Beijing For Mailonline

Published: 01:18 EST, 5 August 2015 | Updated: 03:01 EST, 5 August 2015

Every morning at 6.30am in a padlocked wing of a military-style compound in southern Beijing, a whistle sounds. It's the cue for around 50 camouflage shirt-clad young Chinese men and around five young women to get up.

They line up outside their dormitories as a drillmaster barks out a name register and a day of punishing military exercises and lectures begins. 

At 9.30pm they are locked up again and it's strictly lights out. For most people sent here (some of whom have been drugged by their parents to get them behind the locked gates), this routine is repeated daily for six months.

But these people are not army cadets or prisoners. They are patients at the China Young Mental Development Base: China's toughest internet addiction rehab centre - and MailOnline was allowed inside its sterile walls.

Scroll down for video 

Radical: The China Young Mental Development Camp is currently treating around 55 patients for their addiction - subjecting them to military-style training in a bid to cure them of their obsession with computers

Strict: Patients are not allowed to leave the confines of the compound unless they earn the rare chance to accompany a staffer on a brief trip outside through good behaviour. One time, this led to an escape

Problem: As of July 2014 there were 632 million internet users among China's 1.3 billion population, with the government fearing that as many as 24 million Chinese children may suffer from Internet Addiction Disorder

The patient capacity of the Base is around 80, the average age of patients is 17 and many have deferred a year of school to attend. Most have been sent here by desperate parents as a last resort to cure obsessions with computers that have ripped their families apart.

Parents are encouraged to stay at the Base, which charges 9,300 Yuan (£970) a month per patient plus food costs. They monitor their children's progress and take part in group therapy sessions, and receive training about how to deal with their offspring's addiction.

In 2008 – five years after the Base was established, in 2003 – China became the first country to officially recognise internet addiction as a clinical disorder. 

As of July 2014 there were 632 million internet users among China's 1.3 billion population, with the government fearing that as many as 24 million Chinese children may suffer from Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD).

The Chinese Ministry of Health has outlined specific criteria for IAD diagnoses. Recognised symptoms include using the internet for over six hours a day and having an adverse reaction to not being able to go online.

'Sufferers of IAD completely or partially lose social functions,' Tao Ran, a psychiatrist and former colonel in the People's Liberation Army who now runs the Base, told MailOnline. 'These can include working or studying ability, interpersonal relationships and daily life ability like brushing teeth and having a bath. They also become anxious when there's a power outage.'

He added: 'You can be an expert on computers but you are incapable of doing anything else.' 

Mr Tao claims an 85-90 percent cure rate for the Base. His tough, military-style regime includes psychiatric and drug treatment and has been slammed by medical professionals both within China and abroad. 

He refuses to divulge which drugs he administers, but his methods have influenced other centres across China and his manifesto has been translated into 22 languages.

Internet addicts face gruelling boot camp in documentary Web...

Uncompromising: Many times a day patients are ordered to line up for name register checks and told to stand in perfect regimented order while drillmasters shout about the virtues of discipline at them

Locked: The centre, based in a military-style compound in south Beijing, sees the patients participate in drill training sessions, bonding exercises and undergo psychological tests to see if they have a mental illness

On admission patients are given psychological tests to help determine if they suffer from mental illness then are paired with a doctor and assigned a bunk bed. 

Counselling sessions, lectures about the evils of the internet and in most cases drug programmes follow, as do drill training sessions and bonding exercises with parents.

Mr Tao often personally gives lectures to students. Patients have to stand to attention and answer questions such as whether they believe computers to be toys or tools.

A documentary filmed at the Base that was released in 2014 portrayed a bleak existence for patients. Despairing teenagers were shown crying after being confined there against their will.

Patients are not allowed to leave the confines of the compound unless they earn the rare chance to accompany a staffer on a brief trip outside through good behaviour. On one occasion this policy led to an escape.

'A 28-year-old patient who was very smart pretended to be very positive so people thought he was having a good recovery,' said Mr Tao. 'One day he asked to accompany some doctors to go outside and buy something, then he escaped. We never saw him again.'

All electronic items are banned for patients and confiscated from patients on arrival. There is no access to computers, televisions or mobile phones and standard telephone access is closely controlled.

Dormitory rooms house up to eight patients each and are army-esque and basic, with thin mattresses on bunks. Patients wash in a grubby communal shower room and use squat toilets. The rooms they sleep in have small air conditioning units to help them combat the intense Beijing summer heat.

Multiple times a day patients are ordered to line up for name register checks and told to stand in perfect regimented order while drillmasters shout about the virtues of discipline at them. One warden was seen punching a misbehaving patient in the chest during a marching drill in the exercise yard.

Mr Tao said that high levels of strictness were necessary. 'Western media relates the Base to concentration camps when they see the training,' he said. 'But the addicts are bad at self-discipline. 

'They eat junk food and show little respect for each other. If we didn't force them to get up and to go to bed at a required time, it wouldn't work.

Treatment: Tao Ran, psychiatrist and former army colonel runs the Base. He refused to say which drugs he administers but claims a 85 to 90 per cent cure rate. Above, an EEG scanner used to measure brain activity

Discipline: The patients, made to wear camouflage shirts, are woken up in a padlocked wing of the compound at 6.30am with a whistle before completing a day of activities

'It's similar to how a soldier is trained. On the surface it's compulsory training, but it helps them build good health and cultivate a good lifestyle so they can become immune to addiction.'

Although the conditions seen there on a Wednesday visit last month seemed less stark than those shown in the documentary, patients privately complained about being 'brainwashed'.

For most of the patients at the Base treatment is focused on their obsessions with the internet. Mr Tao said the majority of patients suffer from depression as well as internet addiction.

One 18-year-old male patient from Hebei province described a scenario typical of patients who spoke to MailOnline: detachment from parents leading to them finding solace online.

'Many kids can't see their parents if they don't come home from work for a long time,' he said. 'You can imagine what it's like being alone in a big empty house. They end up playing with friends online. And if they feel inferior as children later they become satisfied by winning online games.'

TAKE THE TEST: DO YOU HAVE 'INTERNET ADDICTION DISORDER'?

To take the Internet Addiction Test, answer each of the 20 questions with a score between one and five. 

1 means 'never', 2 means 'rarely', 3 means 'occasionally', 4 means 'often' and 5 means 'always'.

Keep a track of your score and add it up at the end.

QUESTIONS 

1. How often do you find that you stay online longer than you intended? 

2. How often do you neglect household chores to spend more time online? 

3. How often do you prefer the excitement of the Internet to intimacy with your partner? 

4. How often do you form new relationships with fellow online users? 

5. How often do others in your life complain to you about the amount of time you spend online? 

6. How often do your grades or school work suffer because of the amount of time you spend online? 

7. How often do you check your e-mail before something else that you need to do? 

8. How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of the Internet? 

9. How often do you become defensive or secretive when anyone asks you what you do online? 

10. How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the Internet? 

11. How often do you find yourself anticipating when you will go online again? 

12. How often do you fear that life without the Internet would be boring, empty, and joyless? 

13. How often do you snap, yell, or act annoyed if someone bothers you while you are online? 

14. How often do you lose sleep due to late-night log-ins? 

15. How often do you feel preoccupied with the Internet when off-line, or fantasize about being online? 

16. How often do you find yourself saying "just a few more minutes" when online? 

17. How often do you try to cut down the amount of time you spend online and fail? 

18. How often do you try to hide how long you've been online? 

19. How often do you choose to spend more time online over going out with others? 

20. How often do you feel depressed, moody, or nervous when you are off-line, which goes away once you are back online? 

RESULTS: How serious is your internet addiction?

Normal range: 0 – 30 points

Mild: 31- 49 points 

Moderate: 50 -79 points 

Severe: 80 - 100 points 

Source: Dr Kimberley Young of The Center for Internet Addiction Recovery  

The patient said he was hauled to the Base by his parents after his obsession with playing video games started affecting his grades. He had developed depression and suicidal feelings.

'I started skipping class then finally didn't go to school at all,' he said. 'I lost all my social functions and I even tried to commit suicide by lying on railways and attempting to jump from a high building. But I couldn't go through with it – I didn't have the courage'. 

He said he was 'satisfied' with the Base, saying that the drillmasters and nurses were 'very responsible'. He added: 'The only thing I'm not happy about is the food.'

He also described the methods the staff undertake to suppress misbehavior.

Self-discipline: Mr Tao said Western media compares the Base to concentration camps when they see the training, but he says the teenagers are being taught how to cultivate a good lifestyle to kick their addiction

Spartan: Dormitory rooms house up to eight patients each and are army-esque and basic, with thin mattresses on bunks. Patients wash in a grubby communal shower room and use squat toilets

'Rehabilitation': Mr Tao was unrepetent about his 'treatment'. He said: 'Western media relates the Base to concentration camps when they see the training. But the addicts are bad at self-discipline. They eat junk food and show little respect. If we didn't force them to get up and to go to bed at a required time, it wouldn't work.'

Banned: All electronic items are confiscated from patients on arrival. There is no access to computers, televisions or mobile phones allowed and standard telephone access is closely controlled

Tough love: Mr Tao said: 'Addicts for both lose their social functions. Here, we help them develop strong self-discipline. All we do is for the sake of the treatment'

Rebel: One patient told MailOnline, away from the instructors, that those who stay for a long time in the Base feel like they have been 'brainwashed'

'On the day I arrived I went to an office and tried to call my mother but they stopped me,' he said. 'I was suffering from depression and was used to doing whatever I wanted to. I quarreled with the staff. The drillmaster tied my hands and feet to calm me down.'

Another male patient aged 16 and from Hunan province, said he was assigned to the Base because he used to spend up to 24 hours solidly playing online games.

'They had snacks in the internet café so I could stay there and just leave my seat for a minute or two at a time,' he said. 'I used to play Counter-Strike – I was excited all the time I was playing.'

He added: 'I've changed a lot, and my parents see the change. I've corrected some bad habits. I don't think I'll go back to my addiction. I used to be confused and aimless.'

Those two patients spoke in the dormitory area, which was monitored by a stern drillmaster. Later, away from supervision during a sports exercise period in the courtyard, the feedback was not so positive.

'If you stay here for a long time you find it's a brainwash,' one male patient said. 'You know why they asked you to come here on a Wednesday? That's because on Wednesdays fewer people rebel [because the schedule is less strict than on other days].'

Like many others in the Base, this patient said that a negative relationship with his parents contributed to him getting addicted to using the internet. 'Have your parents ever beaten you?' he said. 'If you ask me the answer is: "Quite a lot". When I was younger my dad slapped my nose so it bled.

'They treated me like someone they could transfer their problems onto. And now they have spent several hundreds of thousands [of Yuan, Chinese currency] to try and cure my depression.'

Also in the courtyard the mother of a 16 year-old male patient from Beijing said that she blamed herself for her child's addiction.

'I was very strict in setting high standards for my son's studying,' she said. 'This is common for Chinese parents – paying more attention to study than emotional needs.

'Do I blame myself for his internet addiction? Yes, greatly. I feel terrible and painful. At the beginning here I cried every day. I felt guilty: "How can I put my son here? He is like a prisoner here." But I have no other choice. I can't bring him home.'

Guarded: One of the instructors works at a computer in an out-of-reach office. 

Military: Mr Tao, a former colonel in the People's Liberation Army, trains the addicts like they are soliders

Impact: Speaking to MailOnline, one patient described how  his poor relationship with his parents led to him looking for companionship on the internet. Many of the people in the Base also suffer from depression

Desperate: Two mothers were driven to slipping their children sleeping pills so they could get them to the base

Mr Tao said that some parents bring their children to the Base against their will. He said that two mothers were driven to drugging their children with sleeping tablets so they could transport them there.

'One of those was a 17-year-old girl – she quit school,' Mr Tao said. 'When she was out of money she would steal or find a boyfriend to give her support. After trying to talk her into receiving treatment the mother had no choice [but to drug her]. She was a single mother, her daughter used to beat her. But the daughter had good recovery here and later went to university.'

Mr Tao said that over half of his patients had been violent to their parents. However, he claimed that there had only been two cases of serious violence against staff at the Base so far.

...AND THE CONTROVERSIAL CLAIM THEY CAN 'CURE' HOMOSEXUALITY 

Worryingly, Mr Tao revealed that the Base has a policy of attempting to 'cure' homosexuality in patients.

'For those addicted to porn websites, we provide sex education,' he said. 'We also treat people who are addicted to dating websites or who have same-sex tendencies.'

Mr Tao said that if a patient said they were gay he would not attempt to change their sexuality. He said that there is a difference between being 'biologically' and 'emotionally' homosexual – a claim most doctors in the west would balk at.

'Correction': The Base director said staff try to teach 'naive' people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender to be heterosexual - but wouldn't go against the will of those who are 'biologically' homosexual 

'We only treat those who are not biologically homosexual,' he said. 'They show [gay] tendency due to the fact that they are naïve and immature and under the influence of the outside world. They are curious so want to follow suit.'

He added that 'three or four percent' of his patients were homosexual, and that half of these could not be 'cured' of being gay. 'For the other half we will list the disadvantages of being LGBT, like childlessness, and ask whether they can accept that,' he said.

He added: 'We show the advantages of getting married as normal people by showing videos on the development of human society through establishing a family. We show the happiness brought by children, especially when people are getting older. We show how their parents will suffer if they know they are LGBT, as well as the high rate of sexually transmitted diseases.

'We found that it's easier to correct those aged between 16 and 19 years old and harder to for those above 22.'

When challenged about the ethics of trying to 'correct' someone's sexuality, Mr Tao said: 'In traditional Chinese culture people raise kids so they can have a life guarantee [of being looked after] when they get older. We won't go against the will of those who are biologically LGBT, but I do think that those who are emotionally LGBT out of being naïve need to be treated.'

Homosexuality was illegal until 1997 in China, and was classified as a mental disorder until 2001. The Chinese government and public have made big strides forwards with regards to equal rights for homosexuals recently, but old-fashioned negative opinions about gay people still permeate much of Chinese society.

'Gay conversion' therapy is widespread in China, although a landmark legal case last year suggested that its days may be numbered. Last December a 30 year-old man named Yang Teng successfully sued a clinic in the city of Chongqing after he was hypnotised then given shocks from electrodes as part of treatment for homosexuality.

Clean living: An instructor stands in the corridor of the male section of the Base

Encouragement: Parents are also asked to come and stay at the centre, which charges 9,300 Yuan (£970) a month per patient plus food costs. Despite the price and techniques, it remains popular

'One girl beat two nurses at night,' he said. 'And a doctor's arm was once hurt by broken glass during an incident. But most of the time patients just smash things. You'll find dents on the doors and desks. Some of them smashed glass with their fists, so I had to use acrylic glass in the windows due to fear of getting them hurt.'

Despite the controversy surrounding it, the Base remains a popular choice for parents who feel they have no other way to cure their child's obsession. Although the figures have not been verified, Mr Tao points to his claim of an 85-90 percent cure rate for justification for his methods.

'Internet and drug addictions share similarities,' he says. 'Addicts for both lose their social functions. Here, we help them develop strong self-discipline. All we do is for the sake of the treatment.'

The mother of the 16-year-old patient from Hunan province agreed with him. 'I feel it's a great decision for my son to come here because I have no other choice,' she said. 'By being here I can see what my boy is doing. I've not seen a change in him yet, but I have great hope. I must have hope for the future.'

Additional reporting by Cissy Young 

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