Xi Jinping’s two types of disappearances and murder - RSDL and Liuzhi.
A free deep dive from Beefy on the Chinese crime boss Xi Jinping and his secret systems.
Please support Beefy with a coffee to keep his work flowing!
open.substack.com/pub/beefeate...
A free deep dive from Beefy on the Chinese crime boss Xi Jinping and his secret systems.
Please support Beefy with a coffee to keep his work flowing!
open.substack.com/pub/beefeate...
Xi Jinping’s two types of disappearances
Unmasking the Chinese dictator’s system of forced disappearances and murder.
open.substack.com
June 29, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Xi Jinping’s two types of disappearances and murder - RSDL and Liuzhi.
A free deep dive from Beefy on the Chinese crime boss Xi Jinping and his secret systems.
Please support Beefy with a coffee to keep his work flowing!
open.substack.com/pub/beefeate...
A free deep dive from Beefy on the Chinese crime boss Xi Jinping and his secret systems.
Please support Beefy with a coffee to keep his work flowing!
open.substack.com/pub/beefeate...
‘709’ Today is the 10th anniversary of China’s crackdown on its courageous human rights lawyers. I remember the sinking feeling as I learned in the days that followed of lawyers being disappeared without any due process. Friends imprisoned and tortured in RSDL.
The repression continues.
The repression continues.
July 9, 2025 at 12:26 PM
‘709’ Today is the 10th anniversary of China’s crackdown on its courageous human rights lawyers. I remember the sinking feeling as I learned in the days that followed of lawyers being disappeared without any due process. Friends imprisoned and tortured in RSDL.
The repression continues.
The repression continues.
„The suspicious death of a Beijing tech company manager in Inner Mongolia and recent reporting about the many other deaths of people held in RSDL (“residential surveillance at a designated location”) pending trial has revived public debate about abolishing the reviled RSDL system once and for all.“
Translations: Rampant Abuse, Unexplained Deaths Fuel Calls to Abolish RSDL Detention
The suspicious death of a Beijing tech company manager in Inner Mongolia and recent reporting about the many other deaths of people held in RSDL (“residential surveillance at a designated location”) p...
chinadigitaltimes.net
July 27, 2024 at 11:49 PM
„The suspicious death of a Beijing tech company manager in Inner Mongolia and recent reporting about the many other deaths of people held in RSDL (“residential surveillance at a designated location”) pending trial has revived public debate about abolishing the reviled RSDL system once and for all.“
Translations: Rampant Abuse, Unexplained Deaths Fuel Calls to Abolish RSDL Detention
"[T]he words 'residential surveillance at a designated location' have become almost synonymous with torture."
chinadigitaltimes.net/2024/07/tran...
"[T]he words 'residential surveillance at a designated location' have become almost synonymous with torture."
chinadigitaltimes.net/2024/07/tran...
Translations: Rampant Abuse, Unexplained Deaths Fuel Calls to Abolish RSDL Detention
The suspicious death of a Beijing tech company manager in Inner Mongolia and recent reporting about the many other deaths of people held in RSDL (“residential surveillance at a designated location”) p...
chinadigitaltimes.net
July 26, 2024 at 9:03 PM
Translations: Rampant Abuse, Unexplained Deaths Fuel Calls to Abolish RSDL Detention
"[T]he words 'residential surveillance at a designated location' have become almost synonymous with torture."
chinadigitaltimes.net/2024/07/tran...
"[T]he words 'residential surveillance at a designated location' have become almost synonymous with torture."
chinadigitaltimes.net/2024/07/tran...
Or they put peope in RSDL secret jail -- where so many Chinese and other people are now languishing: safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/syst...
Systematic terror - China’s use of RSDL in recent years
This is the second of a three-part series on RSDL. The first part, China reforms its secret RSDL jails, but will anything change?, focused on the major reforms announced of the RSDL system mid-2025, a...
safeguarddefenders.com
September 7, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Or they put peope in RSDL secret jail -- where so many Chinese and other people are now languishing: safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/syst...
“The worst period of her incarceration came at the start: six months under Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location, or RSDL.
Cheng said authorities focus from the outset on breaking prisoners to gain guilty pleas in an environment of isolation, constant surveillance, enforced silence…”
Cheng said authorities focus from the outset on breaking prisoners to gain guilty pleas in an environment of isolation, constant surveillance, enforced silence…”
Cheng Lei is rebuilding her life after three years in a Beijing prison. She’s written a memoir and a play, tried her hand at stand-up comedy and is pursuing her career as a journalist highlighting the hard conditions of Chinese prisons and her story of resilience.
An Australian journalist turns her harrowing China prison ordeal into a memoir and play
Cheng Lei is rebuilding her life after three years in a Beijing prison. She has written a memoir and a play, tried stand-up comedy and is pursuing journalism.
bit.ly
May 18, 2026 at 5:45 AM
“The worst period of her incarceration came at the start: six months under Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location, or RSDL.
Cheng said authorities focus from the outset on breaking prisoners to gain guilty pleas in an environment of isolation, constant surveillance, enforced silence…”
Cheng said authorities focus from the outset on breaking prisoners to gain guilty pleas in an environment of isolation, constant surveillance, enforced silence…”
Part 2 of @safeguarddefenders.bsky.social investigation into China’s RSDL system examines its scale, and why public court data shows only the visible tip. People can be held in secret locations without meaningful legal recourse.
Read: safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/syst...
Read: safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/syst...
Systematic terror - China’s use of RSDL in recent years
This is the second of a three-part series on RSDL. The first part, China reforms its secret RSDL jails, but will anything change?, focused on the major reforms announced of the RSDL system mid-2025, a...
safeguarddefenders.com
September 8, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Part 2 of @safeguarddefenders.bsky.social investigation into China’s RSDL system examines its scale, and why public court data shows only the visible tip. People can be held in secret locations without meaningful legal recourse.
Read: safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/syst...
Read: safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/syst...
On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we reiterate the call of UN Special Procedures against the continued imposition of #RSDL & #EnforcedDisappearances on those defending rights in China. #DayOfDisappeared
August 29, 2025 at 10:24 AM
On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we reiterate the call of UN Special Procedures against the continued imposition of #RSDL & #EnforcedDisappearances on those defending rights in China. #DayOfDisappeared
#China’s secret system of detention called #RSDL is so secretive that you won't find RSDL facilities marked on maps nor will you see any photos of it on official web pages. Now a new documentary offers a rare glimpse inside an RSDL cell. safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/rare...
June 19, 2025 at 6:19 AM
#China’s secret system of detention called #RSDL is so secretive that you won't find RSDL facilities marked on maps nor will you see any photos of it on official web pages. Now a new documentary offers a rare glimpse inside an RSDL cell. safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/rare...
Welcome reforms to the notorious RSDL system that allows secretive 'house arrest' in locations designated by the police, outside of formal, better monitored custodial facilities.
www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/rsdl-refo...
www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/rsdl-refo...
www.chinalawtranslate.com
October 26, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Welcome reforms to the notorious RSDL system that allows secretive 'house arrest' in locations designated by the police, outside of formal, better monitored custodial facilities.
www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/rsdl-refo...
www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/rsdl-refo...
Safeguard Defenders have discovered imagery of what conditions are like in China's black jails (RSDL and liu zhi). Companies marketing fit outs for jail cells are advertising their products on the social media platform Douyin […]
Original post on mstdn.social
mstdn.social
June 11, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Safeguard Defenders have discovered imagery of what conditions are like in China's black jails (RSDL and liu zhi). Companies marketing fit outs for jail cells are advertising their products on the social media platform Douyin […]
In a formal letter, the #UN emphasizes that #China govt continues to use national security charges, #RSDL, secret trials, and exit bans to suppress lawyers and their families—thereby violating intl #HumanRights standards and undermining legal independence.
spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBas...
spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBas...
August 27, 2025 at 4:03 PM
In a formal letter, the #UN emphasizes that #China govt continues to use national security charges, #RSDL, secret trials, and exit bans to suppress lawyers and their families—thereby violating intl #HumanRights standards and undermining legal independence.
spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBas...
spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBas...
It’s rare that it’s the universities that get things that far. Usually they develop to TRL 1-3, and its government or, more rarely, private industry that partners and funds through the valley of death to TRL 6 or 7. DoD has been huge for this and gets licensing revenues, just like the CAF with RSDL.
September 10, 2025 at 9:21 PM
It’s rare that it’s the universities that get things that far. Usually they develop to TRL 1-3, and its government or, more rarely, private industry that partners and funds through the valley of death to TRL 6 or 7. DoD has been huge for this and gets licensing revenues, just like the CAF with RSDL.
#Beijing targeted participants of the #Xiamen gathering, subjecting them to harsh and inhumane treatment such as #RSDL, where access to lawyers and family is completely cut off. We renew our call on #ChinaGov to repeal such cruel punishment.
🔗 www.nchrd.org/2023/12/summ...
🔗 www.nchrd.org/2023/12/summ...
December 20, 2024 at 10:01 AM
#Beijing targeted participants of the #Xiamen gathering, subjecting them to harsh and inhumane treatment such as #RSDL, where access to lawyers and family is completely cut off. We renew our call on #ChinaGov to repeal such cruel punishment.
🔗 www.nchrd.org/2023/12/summ...
🔗 www.nchrd.org/2023/12/summ...
👀IMPORTANT: Long-awaited reforms to Residential Surveillance in a Designated Location (RSDL) have been released.
The system has long been abused to keep suspects out of closely-monitored detention centers for lengthy detainment and harsh interrogations.
www.chinalawtranslate.com/rsdl-reform/
The system has long been abused to keep suspects out of closely-monitored detention centers for lengthy detainment and harsh interrogations.
www.chinalawtranslate.com/rsdl-reform/
www.chinalawtranslate.com
October 26, 2025 at 4:49 AM
👀IMPORTANT: Long-awaited reforms to Residential Surveillance in a Designated Location (RSDL) have been released.
The system has long been abused to keep suspects out of closely-monitored detention centers for lengthy detainment and harsh interrogations.
www.chinalawtranslate.com/rsdl-reform/
The system has long been abused to keep suspects out of closely-monitored detention centers for lengthy detainment and harsh interrogations.
www.chinalawtranslate.com/rsdl-reform/
China reforms its secret RSDL jails, but will anything change? New regulation fall shorts, and likelihood of actual enforcement low.
safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/chin...
safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/chin...
China reforms its secret RSDL jails, but will anything change?
This is the first of a three-part series on on Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL), the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) system of enforced disappearances. The second part,…
safeguarddefenders.com
April 8, 2026 at 11:15 PM
China reforms its secret RSDL jails, but will anything change? New regulation fall shorts, and likelihood of actual enforcement low.
safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/chin...
safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/chin...
Chinese authorities quietly curb abuse of detention procedure linked to suspect deaths – SCMP: ‘last month, a leaked file of new guidelines circulated online, adding supervision and restricting the way the measure, …residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL), is approved and executed.’
China quietly curbs abuse of detention procedure linked to suspect deaths
New guidelines on supervision, approval and execution of ‘residential surveillance at a designated location’ leaked online.
www.scmp.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Chinese authorities quietly curb abuse of detention procedure linked to suspect deaths – SCMP: ‘last month, a leaked file of new guidelines circulated online, adding supervision and restricting the way the measure, …residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL), is approved and executed.’
In #China, activists sometimes disappear without a trace. #ShenAibin, who was repeatedly jailed for exposing government corruption and speaking out against the detention of petitioners in 'black jails,' has not been heard from since he was placed under #RSDL three years ago.
For background 👇
For background 👇
April 7, 2025 at 8:29 AM
In #China, activists sometimes disappear without a trace. #ShenAibin, who was repeatedly jailed for exposing government corruption and speaking out against the detention of petitioners in 'black jails,' has not been heard from since he was placed under #RSDL three years ago.
For background 👇
For background 👇
It is with great sadness that we heard about Lam Wing-kee’s passing last night. He was a truly brave man who spoke truth to power, telling the world about #China’s kidnapping of Hongkongers, secret RSDL jails and forced TV confessions.
hongkongfp.com/2026/07/03/h...
hongkongfp.com/2026/07/03/h...
Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee, once held in China, dies in Taiwan
Lam Wing-kee, a Hong Kong bookseller who fled to Taiwan in 2019 after being detained by China in 2015 for selling content deemed critical of Beijing, died Thursday at the age of 70.
hongkongfp.com
July 3, 2026 at 6:44 AM
It is with great sadness that we heard about Lam Wing-kee’s passing last night. He was a truly brave man who spoke truth to power, telling the world about #China’s kidnapping of Hongkongers, secret RSDL jails and forced TV confessions.
hongkongfp.com/2026/07/03/h...
hongkongfp.com/2026/07/03/h...
That makes it easier!
The decontamination lotion used by the military (RSDL, a Canadian invention) is like olive oil in consistency. You’d leave training looking like you were wearing hair pomade 60’s style!
The decontamination lotion used by the military (RSDL, a Canadian invention) is like olive oil in consistency. You’d leave training looking like you were wearing hair pomade 60’s style!
May 11, 2026 at 6:20 PM
That makes it easier!
The decontamination lotion used by the military (RSDL, a Canadian invention) is like olive oil in consistency. You’d leave training looking like you were wearing hair pomade 60’s style!
The decontamination lotion used by the military (RSDL, a Canadian invention) is like olive oil in consistency. You’d leave training looking like you were wearing hair pomade 60’s style!
#RSDL alert: #Beijing detained labor activist and journalist #LiYuanfeng incommunicado, under the notorious 'Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location,' where mistreatment is widespread. @freedom.press @chinamediaproject.bsky.social @chinadigitaltimes.bsky.social
据维权网报道，湖南独立记者 #李原风 （原名 #李维忠） 于2024年11月13日被以涉嫌 #煽动颠覆国家政权罪 #指定居所监视居住 ！https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2024/11/blog-post_31.html
李原风于2024年10月10日被行政拘留15天，10月26日被以涉嫌 #寻衅滋事罪 转为刑事拘留。
李原风于2024年10月10日被行政拘留15天，10月26日被以涉嫌 #寻衅滋事罪 转为刑事拘留。
November 15, 2024 at 5:38 AM
#RSDL alert: #Beijing detained labor activist and journalist #LiYuanfeng incommunicado, under the notorious 'Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location,' where mistreatment is widespread. @freedom.press @chinamediaproject.bsky.social @chinadigitaltimes.bsky.social
Will be working to put up an accurate translation and analysis in the near future.
The comprehensive rules from the Procuratorate and Public Security organs impact both when and how RSDL can be implemented.
The comprehensive rules from the Procuratorate and Public Security organs impact both when and how RSDL can be implemented.
October 26, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Will be working to put up an accurate translation and analysis in the near future.
The comprehensive rules from the Procuratorate and Public Security organs impact both when and how RSDL can be implemented.
The comprehensive rules from the Procuratorate and Public Security organs impact both when and how RSDL can be implemented.
