Mar 9, 2012
Translated by Ma Zheng

Following much public complaint, the Chinese government is formally restricting the police's power to secretly detain people, announcing stricter revisions to China's
Criminal Procedure Law than had originally been planned. The changes to the law were announced Thursday at the National People's Congress, China's parliamentary body.

The proposed changes include a new provision for notifying the families of people held under residential surveillance within 24 hours, except in circumstances when the families cannot be reached.

However, special exceptions are included for cases involving issues of national security, terrorism, and high-level fraud, where suspects will be held in secret locations.
 
When the first draft of the planned amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law were released in August last year, many lawyers and other commentators were critical of articles that would have allowed police to hold and detain suspects under "residential surveillance" without informing their families.

Many legal experts and scholars worried that such "residential surveillance" could easily morph into the legalization of "forced disappearances." 　　

"The draft amendment should fully abolish "secret detention" and make all judicial actions open and transparent," a well-known law professor from China University of Political Science and Law wrote in a commentary piece that was posted to the EO's Chinese language website yesterday.

In the opinion piece, Chen Jieren (陈杰人) went on to note that "these revisions do not constitute substantial progress, they mean the government will fight these crimes in secrecy, and that the perceived national interest will supersede human rights. A truly modern country, which is ruled by law, should place a high value on human rights; it should put human rights on top of all other values."  

China's legislature has also underlined the principle of "respecting and safeguarding human rights" by writing it into the second article of the law.

"This is the first time in history that Chinese constitutional law contains clauses regarding human rights," noted Chen Guangzhong (陈光中), a law professor from China University of Political Science and Law.

Links and Sources
Economic Observer Online: 刑诉法修正案应让司法行为在阳光下进行
The Beijing News: 危害国家安全被拘可不通知家属
WSJ: China\'s Debate Over Rights
Xinhua News Agency: 关于《中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法修正案（草案）》的说明 (introduction to changes to the draft amendments)
NPC: 刑事诉讼法修正案（草案）条文及草案说明 (Draft Law)
US Asia Law Society: Chance and Challenge for Chinese Criminal Procedure Law Reform