'Missing' In China: Caught In the RSDL Abyss

The Spain-based nonprofit human rights organization, Safeguard Defenders, published Missing in Japan in February. It explains its motivation as the "growing number of foreigners arbitrarily detained in China." Whether Japanese or any other nationality, the volume is a practical handbook to help those whose loved ones "have been disappeared" at the hand of Chinese police.

This is the same group that in 2022 published a report on clandestine police stations around the world run by China's Ministry of Public Security. In addition to English and Chinese versions, a Japanese version of Missing in Japan is also available.

Second of 2 parts

Read Part 1: Living and Working in China: First, Know the Risk

Safeguard Defenders explains the rationale for translating the guidebook into Japanese as follows: "When we started working on this guidebook, we realized that more than any other country, Japan has reportedly been the most heavily targeted in China in terms of detentions of its citizens on espionage charges in recent years."

The Hideji Suzuki Case

"Missing in Japan" includes a case study on Hideji Suzuki, who was detained by the Chinese police in 2016. Eventually, he was sentenced to six years for espionage. After his release and return to Japan, Suzuki wrote a book the title or which translates into English as 2,279 Days of Detention in China: Record of a Pro-China Japanese Who Was Treated as a Spy (Mainichi Shimbun Publishing, 2023, in Japanese).

Like the Astellas Pharma senior manager detained in 2023, Suzuki was an "old China hand." He had traveled back and forth from China for decades as the head of a Japan-China youth friendship association.

In his book, Suzuki described his horrific experience of detention that included psychological and physical torture. Even before being formally arrested, he spent seven months in the infamous RSDL (Residential Surveillance at a Dedicated Location) incommunicado detention system. During that entire time he was only allowed to see the sun for 15 minutes. Suzuki said that his time in the RSDL was even worse than prison.

Tens of thousands of people, including the world famous dissident artist Ai Weiwei, Swedish human rights activist Peter Dahlin and Australian journalist Cheng Lei have suffered in secret RSDL sites. Moreover, the United Nations has condemned it as a system that "could amount to torture."

The Economist has characterized this "black jail" custodial system into which victims are disappeared by the state as "an outrage that even China's supine media has called out." Not coincidentally, it was introduced in 2013 — the year that Xi J i nping became China's leader.

*Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the April 28. (©Kyodo)*

Safeguard Defenders has also published the illustrated report Locked Up: Inside China's Secret RSDL Jails. It uses artwork, satellite images and architectural sketches to let the reader experience the full horror of the RSDL. The group states that "every detail in Locked Up is sourced from testimony provided by victims, their families or lawyers."

Coming For You

Typically, the detainee is surprised when a number of police arrive, often in the middle of the night, to take him into custody. His phone and other belongings are confiscated. He is not allowed to contact anyone to tell them what is happening or whether he is even still alive. A black hood is pulled over his head so he will not be able to see where he is going. The secret location he is being transported to, usually either a government building or hotel, may be hours away by car.

Upon arrival at the detention center, the person in custody, male or female, is stripped naked and his or her orifices inspected to make sure nothing has been hidden. The layout of the detention rooms are always much the same. Walls are padded to prevent suicides.

When not undergoing interrogations, the detainee (not a prisoner because he has not yet been charged with a crime) is constantly watched, even while in the toilet, by two guards who never talk. There are no books, TV, writing materials, except for writing confessions, or even timepieces. The lights remain on 24 hours a day, so the detainee soon loses track of time. Frequently, the detainee is also forced to ingest "medicine."

If the detainee is judged to be not sufficiently cooperative, he will be subjected to beatings on areas of the body that will not leave visible marks, forced into excruciatingly painful stress positions for hours or interrogated while shackled to a "tiger chair." The interrogators may even threaten family members with harm.

RSDL Detention

By law, an individual cannot be held in RSDL for more than six weeks. Nevertheless, there have been cases in which a detainee remained in this extrajudicial limbo for up to four years. In many cases, the detainee ends up being released without even being charged. From the start, the intent may be to intimidate or find out information about another target.

In his book, Suzuki speculated that the Chinese had a spy in Japan's Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) (kōanchōsa-chō). Suzuki says that while he was being interrogated by Chinese intelligence officers in the months before his trial, he was shown what appeared to be official ID photos of several PSIA officials.

Of course, Chinese hackers have been busy breaking into the computer systems of several Western governments. Therefore, they could have stolen the PSIA's personnel files. However, the possibility of moles in the Japanese government certainly cannot be dismissed out of hand.

Perhaps even more disconcerting would be the discovery that Chinese agents are shadowing individuals of interest on Japanese soil.

Suzuki's Downfall

Suzuki has admitted that while on a visit to Japan he met with a PSIA official several times, but says he was never asked to try to collect information in China for pay. He says the only money he received from the agency was for transportation expenses. It is not clear whether he met with any PSIA people while in China.

Suzuki traces his downfall to a dinner he had with a Chinese diplomat in Beijing in December 2013. At the time, he discussed a recent leadership purge in North Korea that resulted in the sensational execution for treason of Jang Song Thaek. He was the uncle by marriage of Kim Jong Un.

Not only was Jang formerly number two in the North Korean hierarchy, he was also China's chief liaison with Pyongyang. The news was hardly secret as it had already been extensively reported in the international media. However, the Chinese apparently concluded Suzuki was trying to obtain information on behalf of the PSIA on how China was reacting to the incident.

Economic Crimes and the Astellas Case

Running afoul of espionage laws are not the only thing Japanese doing business in China have to be concerned with. China has a large set of laws for "economic crimes" separate from its civil law system. There are 105 separate crimes across eight categories, including "disturbing the market order."

*A surveillance camera is silhouetted behind a Chinese national flag in Beijing. (©Reuters/file photo)*

Some businessmen being investigated for economic crimes have reportedly been held in RSDL.

Local officials often use their power to influence court decisions. Foreigners under investigation or who are involved in business disputes can be slapped with exit bans that can last for months or even years. Sometimes, they only discover that they are prohibited from leaving China when they reach the airport.

The use of exit bans has increased considerably under Xi. Consequently, the United States government has issued a travel advisory warning US citizens to "exercise increased caution" when traveling to China because of coercive exit bans.

China's Anti-Business Policies

China's policy of prioritizing national security is likely to be further strengthened against the backdrop of the US-China conflict and tensions between Japan and China. In Japan-China relations, mutual distrust may deepen and dampen Japanese people's desire to travel to China.

It may also accelerate the contraction of business activities. Japanese companies are increasingly questioning whether the profits made from their businesses in China are worth the risk.

Nonetheless, as things now stand, many business people have no choice but to go to China on business trips. Given this reality, both companies and individuals need to take all possible risk countermeasures. While in China, the resident or traveler should assume that not only their phone calls, emails and faxes, but also posts on social media may be monitored.

Artificial intelligence-based surveillance is also becoming more common. Statements or actions that criticize the Chinese government, or touch on politically sensitive topics such as ethnic minority issues or specific religious issues, can get a person in deep trouble with the Chinese authorities ー even if made outside China. Travelers should assume that their computers or mobile phones will be thoroughly searched when they reach the Chinese border.

In short, the Astellas verdict serves as a renewed warning that China's law enforcement is unpredictable and dangerous for Japanese citizens.

This incident has highlighted the seriousness of the issue of Japanese nationals being detained in China. It also suggests that the risk of being detained in the future may be even higher.