Shuanggui

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reports of Shuanggui subjects being tortured to extract forced confessions.^[1][2] In 2018, the shuanggui process was superseded by liuzhi or "retention in custody," which expands beyond CCP members to the entire public sector, academics, and business leaders.^[4][5]