Comments on: Working to Protect Your Human Rights

By: K. M. Lawson

K. M. Lawson — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:33:40 +0000

Thanks for pointing this out. I think you may be right. I am probably reading too much into 专门審委會. This was all written in the section of the report on 审讯工作 and there wasn’t any further description of the dedicated 審委會. I think I misread this. There is a lot more in the same report on the torture still being used in some districts and the need to replace it with the 说服教育 method but it is always condemnatory in nature so it does seem out of context to admit to such an exception. Thanks again.

By: Wei Xingnong

Wei Xingnong — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:15:58 +0000

One report, for example, claims that torture has been basically eliminated but that for “important cases” they still have the capacity for “special” interrogations (”基本上停止用刑讯，强调政治动员，因而技术也被迫提高，如有特别重大的案件, 还有专门審委會的建立”). The same report notes that, thanks to these and other improvements in the care of prisoners, both the suicide and escape rates among detainees dropped.
You seem to be hinting at dark implications of the “special” in 专门審委會 but not sure where you’re getting that from in context of the sentence – seems more to follow on from previous clause saying that interrogation skills have of necessity been improved now they have stopped using torture. Seems more to imply a “dedicated” 審委會 that can bring these skills to bear in a coordinated way in major cases. Or is the term used with the more sinister connotations elsewhere?

By: Kellen

Kellen — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:25:30 +0000

very interesting stuff. thanks for sharing this.