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China Extends Feared Detention Centers

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BEIJING (Worthy News) – Corruption suspects in China prepare for a Chinese New Year behind bars across the Communist-run nation. Chinese President Xi Jinping has reportedly built or expanded more than 200 specialized detention facilities nationwide to interrogate those allegedly involved in graft.

The revelations come as Xi extends an anti-corruption crackdown beyond his ruling Communist Party to public sectors, reported the U.S.-based Cable News Network (CNN).

Chinese insiders say alleged corrupt or disloyal officials and political rivals have already been removed “at an unprecedented speech” since Xi came to power in 2012.

However, his latest reported move suggested that Xi, now in his third term, is further consolidatingcontrol over the party and military.

The expanded detention regime, named”liuzhi,” or “retention in custody,” comes with facilities with “padded surfaces and round-the-clock guards in every cell,” where inmates can be held for up to six months without ever seeing a lawyer or family members, CNN said.

And increasingly, according to Chinese sources, some of the “most fearsome tools” he has wielded to keep officials in line are being used against a much broader section of society.

Those targeted reportedly range from private entrepreneurs to school and hospital administrators – regardless of whether they are members of the 99-million-strong party.

HIGH-PROFILE INMATES

High-profile liuzhi detainees include Bao Fan, a billionaire investment banker, and Li Tie, a former English Premier League soccer star and coach of China’s national men’s team. Li was sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption this month.

According to company announcements cited by CNN, at least 127 senior executives of publicly listed firms—many of them private businesses—have been taken into liuzhi custody, with three-quarters of the detentions taking place in the past two years alone.

The latest reported crackdown was also expected to raise concerns among other communities deemed dangerous to Xi’s power base, including Christians worshiping outside Communist-sanctioned churches.

Earlier this year, a pastor who the United States said had been wrongfully detained in a Chinese prison was released after nearly two decades behind bars

David Lin, 68, was detained in China in 2006 after helping to construct an unapproved church building. He was later sentenced to life in prison for “contract fraud,” a charge often used against perceived opponents of China’s ruling party. Lin has denied wrongdoing.

The liuzhi detention centers are part of constitutional revisions that cleared the way for Xi to rule for life, according to Chinese sources familiar with the situation.

There had been some hope that Xi would end the policy of secret detentions in 2018 following growing criticism over widespread abuse, torture, and forced confession: Xi scrapped the controversial practice known as “shuanggui,” or “double designation” – a nod to the party’s power to summon members for investigation at a designated time and place.

CONCERNS REMAIN

However, human rights watchers soon discovered that the Chinese leader did not abolish secret detention but placed it under the purview of a powerful new state agency, the National Supervisory Commission (NSC).

The NSC merged with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which had run a secretive, extralegal detention system to interrogate Communist Party cadres suspected of corruption and other misdeeds.

Officials under investigation disappeared into party compounds, hotels, or other covert locations for months at a time, with no access to legal counsel or family visits.

A criminal defense lawyer, who has represented Chinese officials in corruption cases, said there had been “little improvement in the protection of detainees’ rights under liuzhi.”

The lawyer, who requested anonymity due to fears of retribution from the government, told CNN many of their clients had “detailed abuse, threats and forced confessions while in liuzhi custody.”

It is now feared that many more people will face similar treatment in the special detention facilities.