China has expanded its services to detain suspects caught up in President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption network, according to a new report.
Analysts have said China’s ongoing anti-corruption crackdown has served as a tool for Xi against his political rivals. Academics have called Xi’s new expanded detention processes “deeply troubling. “
Xi, who recently served an unprecedented third presidential term, introduced a broad anti-corruption crusade after assuming leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2012. Since then, more than 4,000 Party officials, from “fly” subordinates to senior officials -The classification “tigers” were investigated.
China has built more than two hundred sites for officials detained during the Liuzhi government, a “detention in detention” formula outside the formal legal framework, CNN reported.
Among the high-profile detainees are former Foreign Minister Qin Gang, two former defense ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, and senior leaders of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, which oversees China’s nuclear arsenal.
Detainees in Liuzhi centers can be detained for up to six months without the assistance of a lawyer or family members. The centers have padded walls and committed guards who monitor detainees 24/7.
The Liuzhi formula replaced the Shuanggui regime in 2018, a term that refers to the Party’s ability to summon and investigate its members, adding torture to extract confessions.
Critics argue the new system is not a reform, however, noting it not only codifies secret detentions but also expands the scope of those investigated beyond the CCP’s 99 million members to anyone in “public power,” from civil servants to public school principals to managers of state-owned enterprises.
A lawyer defending the Liuzhi procedure told CNN that most of the detainees suffered abuse and coercion to obtain confessions.
“Most of them would succumb to the pressure and agony. Those who resisted until the end were a tiny minority,” they said anonymously over concerns of government reprisal.
CNN identified a total of 218 liuzhi facilities this year, citing tender notices.
The news firm said its satellite imagery research from Colorado-based Maxar Technologies discovered a slight buildup in the structure of facilities in Liuzhi in 2023, especially in spaces with giant ethnic minority populations.
One prominent example is Shizuishan in Ningxia. The 77,000-square-foot detention center built in 2018 was expanded this year to include interrogation rooms, 30 detention cells, and dormitories for 550 staff members.
A 2018 municipal notice from Shizuishan outlined safety requirements, including padded walls, concealed electrical wiring, and other measures to prevent detainee suicides—an issue that plagued the shuanggui system.
Newsweek has reached out to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for written comment.
Sophie Richardson, visiting Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, and former China director at Human Rights Watch:
In a social media post on Sunday, Richardson described Liuzhi as “an attack on the rule of law,” saying: “As long as the Party stands above courts, police and detention centers, legal or not, and prioritizes political loyalty above all else, this will be the norm.
“The fact that any candidate in public service could be subjected to this remedy (see padded walls debate) is deeply worrying,” he added.
Xi’s anti-corruption campaign shows no sign of abating, with a particular focus on the military. Earlier this year, the leader called on the party to “turn the knife inward” to maintain discipline within party ranks.
These comments were made in January, but were published last week in the CCP’s political and news newspaper, Qiushi.
“As the scenario and responsibilities facing the party change, there will inevitably be all kinds of conflicts and disorders within the party,” Xi said.
“We will have to have the courage to turn the knife inward and eliminate its negative effects at the right time to ensure that the game is full of vigor and vitality. “
Last month, the Chinese defense ministry dismissed reports that Defense Minister Dong Jun was under investigation. However, it confirmed that Miao Hua, a member of the five-person Central Military Commission, had been suspended pending a probe into “serious violation of discipline,” a term commonly used to indicate corruption investigations.
Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian security issues, and cross-strait ties between China and Taiwan. You can get in touch with Micah by emailing [email protected].