The “Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location” is a form of “coercive detention measure violating basic human rights” stipulated by the Chinese Communist Party. Many dissenters in China have been subjected to “Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location.” One victim, the Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, pointed out that this system has been widely used on ordinary people in recent years, stating that the relevant regulations are unconstitutional and should have been abolished long ago.
According to an investigative report published by the “Southern Weekend” on July 20, in order to obtain confessions, law enforcement officials resort to torture methods, including forcing the wearing of handcuffs and leg irons, interrogation while seated on an iron chair, beating, electric shocks, starvation, restricting bathroom use, and even some individuals have been tortured to death during the period of surveillance, sparking discussions on the abolition of this system.
Following his arrest in the “709 Crackdown” in 2015, Wang Quanzhang was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison. After his release in April 2020, he was placed under surveillance at a designated location, and later when he returned home, he was monitored 24 hours a day. In a recent interview with Voice of America, he described his firsthand experience during the period of surveillance as “a fate worse than death.”
“It’s not just about not being allowed to make phone calls or move freely, it’s a total loss of freedom, even in the simplest acts like breathing, eating, and even passing gas, you have to report everything,” he said.
According to a report by Radio Taiwan International on August 2, Wang Quanzhang emphasized during an interview on the program “Serving the People – Yang Xianhong Time” that “Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location” was supposed to be a more humane measure compared to being arrested or detained in a detention center. Individuals under such confinement should have normal rights to live freely, communicate, meet visitors, and various other rights. Additionally, the person might not have a place to live, so being assigned to a specific location may seem humane, but the actual implementation by the authorities is far from it, often involving coercion and torture to extract confessions.
He mentioned that initially, this system was supposed to be restricted to three types of individuals who pose threats to national security, are involved in serious corruption, bribery, or organized crime. However, with the introduction of the new National Security Law in 2015, this system has been abused nationwide, with even members of the National People’s Congress falling victim to it. When they were endorsing this system back then, they never anticipated that one day they themselves would be caught in its web.
The report by “Southern Weekend” stated that the need for change in the system of Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location has become a consensus in Chinese academia, with several scholars publicly calling for reform.
However, Wang Quanzhang believes that whether there will be immediate improvements or abolishment remains uncertain. Nevertheless, this unconstitutional regulation should be abolished as soon as possible, no matter what.