Shuanggui
| Shuanggui | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 双规 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 雙規 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Double designated | ||||||
| |||||||
Shuanggui is an internal disciplinary process conducted by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – and its lower-level affiliates – on CCP members who are suspected of "violations of discipline," a charge which usually refers to corruption but can occasionally carry other connotations as well. The Shuanggui process is conducted in secret, in a system which is separate from ordinary Chinese law enforcement. Generally, subjects are isolated from any form of legal counsel or even family visits during the process.[1] Some journalists maintain that the practice has been involved in extraordinary renditions.[2] It is an extrajudicial process outside of the control of the Chinese state.[3]
By the point the CCP member is informed of their Shuanggui, the party disciplinary agencies have often already found enough evidence behind the scenes to establish guilt. As such, being taken to Shuanggui is usually taken as an indictment with presumed guilt despite party regulations which stipulate a presumption of innocence. Party investigators often turn the suspect over to the formal system of prosecution, that is, the procuratorate, if the member is deemed to be guilty, which is most times the case. The system has been described variously as an effective way to root out corruption but also as depriving its subjects of basic legal rights. There have been reports of Shuanggui subjects being tortured to extract forced confessions.[1][2] In 2018, the shuanggui process was superseded by liuzhi or "retention in custody," which expands beyond CCP members to the entire public sector and business leaders.[4]
Legal basis
[edit]The legal foundation of the shuanggui system is a matter of some controversy and dispute. Both the Chinese Communist Party discipline inspection organs cases inspection regulations Article 28 (3) and the Administrative Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China Article 20 (3) provide that "Order personnel under investigation for suspicion of violating administrative disciplines to make explanations of the matters under investigation at an appointed time and place; however, personnel under investigation shall not be detained in any manner".[5]
Procedures
[edit]The process of shuanggui has been shrouded in secrecy for many decades.[4] In recent years much more light has been shed on the internal workings of the shuanggui system, both by Chinese media and by foreign press.
When Party members are removed from their places of work for shuanggui, they are typically held in isolation. They have no access to legal counsel, and are usually not allowed to have contact with their families. Every year, several thousand Party members are believed to be secretly detained for weeks and months under the system. Party officials say that nearly 90 percent of "major corruption cases" are cracked through the use of shuanggui.[6]
In 2013 anti-corruption officials investigated 173,000 cases of corruption using shuanggui. Three people died during these interrogations. In one case, six Party interrogators, who tortured state engineer Yu Qiyi to death, were sentenced to prison.[7]
In early 2014 Zhou Wangyan provided a detailed description of his time under shuanggui. He told the Associated Press that he had been severely tortured during interrogation, in an effort to have him confess to a charge of bribery which he says he did not commit.[6] CCP interrogators forced his legs apart until his left thigh bone snapped with a loud "ka-cha" noise. Zhou said that he was deprived of sleep and food, nearly drowned, whipped with wires, and forced to consume feces. Other party officials told the Associated Press that they were "turned into human punching bags, strung up by the wrists from high windows, or dragged along the floor, face down, by their feet."[6]
The actions taken against those in the custody of the Shuanggui system are designed to extract confessions. There is no external oversight of shuanggui facilities, allowing the Party to "abuse its own members in its own secret jails with impunity". Police officials who receive complaints of torturous and abusive shuanggui procedures are not allowed to investigate them.[6]
Notable cases
[edit]A list of notable officials or CCP cadres who have been subjected to shuanggui based on accusations of corruption or violations of CCP discipline:
- Bo Xilai
- Chen Xitong
- Chen Liangyu
- Cheng Kejie
- Ji Jianye
- Yu Qiyi
- Ling Jihua
- Mao Xiaoping
- Meng Hongwei[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Jacobs, Andrew (14 June 2012). "Accused Chinese party members face harsh discipline: Recent cases shed light on China's feared interrogation system". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ^ a b Dorfman, Zach (29 March 2018). "The Disappeared". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ Lyons Jones, Charlie; Varrall, Merriden (2 April 2018). "China: The party, the state, and the new anti-graft body". The Interpreter. Sydney: Lowly Institute. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ a b Xiong, Yong (2024-12-28). "China is building new detention centers all over the country as Xi Jinping widens corruption purge". CNN. Archived from the original on 2024-12-28. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
- ^ "Chapter IV: Supervisory Organs' Jurisdiction". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ a b c d Wong, Gillian (10 March 2014). "In China, brutality yields confessions of graft". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ "Yu Qiyi drowning: China party investigators jailed over killing". BBC News. 2013-10-14. Archived from the original on 2024-07-04. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
- ^ "The way China arrested Interpol's boss has harmed the country's image". The Economist. October 11, 2018. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
