China builds more than 200 detention centers as Xi Jinping expands anti-corruption campaign

Last update:December 29, 2024, 11:03 PM IST

The “Liuzhi” detention centers have sparked concerns about widespread abuse, torture and forced confessions, as they seek to consolidate Xi Jinping's grip on power and all aspects of society.

The expanded detention regime is seen as Xi Jinping's latest attempt to consolidate his power over the state. (Reuters/File)

China has reportedly built or expanded more than 200 detention centers across the country as President Xi Jinping expands his anti-corruption campaign, which has become the main plank of his governance model, and prosecutes more than a million members of the ruling Communist Party.

The expanded detention centers, called liuzhi “or in-custody detention”, are equipped with padded surfaces, 24-hour guards and surveillance cameras and are designed to hold detainees for up to six months without seeing a lawyer or witnesses. members of their family, according to a CNN report.

Since coming to power in 2012, Xi Jinping has focused on fighting corruption and disloyalty, while consolidating his absolute control over the Communist Party and the military. Xi's anti-corruption campaign in the military has attracted global attention, which his critics say has allowed him to consolidate his grip on power.

State media reports that more than a million party officials, including two defense ministers and dozens of military officials, were punished and prosecuted during the campaign. In a recent speech to party members, Xi said all workers must deeply promote the party's self-revolution, referring to the fight against corruption.

The Chinese president's anti-corruption campaign has become a more permanent part of his governance, extending across party lines and targeting various public sectors, including private contractors and school and hospital administrators.

The new Chinese detention regime

For several years, the Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) has operated a secret detention system to question party officials suspected of corruption, without legal recourse or family access. Several officials abruptly disappeared from public view and were detained in party offices, hotels and other secret locations for months.

However, China's controversial “shuanggui” policy, known as “dual designation”, has faced intense global criticism over allegations of widespread abuse, torture and forced confessions. Xi banned the practice in 2018, but did not abolish the secret detention of party officials.

Instead, the practice was given a new name of liuzhi and brought under the purview of a new state agency called the National Supervisory Commission (NSC). The new system retains several features of its predecessor, including prolonged detention without any judicial intervention or independent oversight.

The NSC consolidated the government's anti-corruption forces and merged them with the CCDI and the two agencies coordinate and even share the same offices, staff and website, meaning the same controversial practice still exists, now codified by a law that can target the entire public. sector.

What do these facilities look like?

At least 218 Liuzhi detention centers were established, renovated or expanded between 2017 and November 2024, accelerating after the COVID-19 pandemic. The actual number is expected to be much higher, as many local authorities do not publish tender notices online.

These holding cells and interrogation rooms would be equipped with fully padded walls, cabinets, tables, chairs and beds, non-slip surfaces, surveillance cameras and much more. Most security features are designed to prevent inmates from committing suicide, a long-standing problem in Shuanggui detentions.

Chinese authorities have established standard construction rules for Liuzhi centers, including a national plan for building such facilities between 2023 and 2027. These include a massive 542-room resort in Dingxi, which includes 32 detention cells.

What does Xi hope to achieve by extending the detention?

Critics have argued that expanding the detention regime would lead to abuses of power and forced detentions, thereby consolidating Xi's authoritarian hold over all aspects of society and the state. The Liuzhi regime has a broader target than its predecessor, as it also ensnares officials in public institutions and state-owned enterprises.

Among the most high-profile detainees are Bao Fan, a billionaire investment banker, and former footballer Li Tie, the coach of China's men's national team. As many as 127 senior executives of listed companies have been detained under the new detention regime.

A criminal lawyer who has represented Chinese officials in corruption cases told CNN that there has been little improvement in protecting those detained under Liuzhi, as many of their clients suffered detailed abuse, threats and forced confessions in detention.

Most of them would succumb to the pressure and agony. Those who resisted to the end were a tiny minority,” the lawyer said. In one case, an official named Chen Jianjun claimed he was tricked into making a false confession of bribery after being deprived of sleep and forced to sit upright for 18 hours a day.

According to the lawyer, investigators also arrest a civil servant and his or her spouse simultaneously in a dual approach aimed at keeping the spouse hostage and forcing a confession from the alleged transgressor.