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China The Economist December 9th 2017 45

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46 The toilet revolution

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A new branch of government the law. The new supervisors will be able
Who supervises the supervisors? to interrogate, search, wiretap, detain and
punish suspects.
The extension of the graft-busters’ au-
thority reflects Mr Xi’s belief that the cur-
rent arrangement, in which the party is re-
sponsible forcrackingdown on corruption
but only indirectly controls the police and
BEIJING judiciary, is no longer enough. The presi-
The CommunistPartygives itselfmore policing and judicial powers
dent’s concerns seem to have broadened
HREE hours into his marathon speech belong to both. Mr Xi is state president and from corruption to party discipline, ideo-
Tto the CommunistPartycongressin Oc- general secretary ofthe party. The party hi- logical correctness and the need to clamp
tober, as delegates glanced surreptitiously erarchy parallels the state one and out- down on local officials who ignore the or-
at their watches, Xi Jinping, China’s presi- ranks it. Forexample, the politburo, a party ders ofthe central government.
dent, sprang a surprise. “The practice of committee of 25, is more important than The newsystem islikelyto intensify the
shuanggui,” he suddenly announced, “will the state council, composed of govern- anti-corruption campaign, to judge from
be replaced by detention.” Shuanggui is a ment ministers. The shuanggui system be- the results ofthe three pilot schemes. In all
system in which party members accused longsto the party. Ordinaryjails, the police ofthem, the numberofcases handled shot
of corruption are locked up in secret jails, and the courts are parts ofthe state. up in the firsteightmonthsofthe year com-
beyond the reach of the judiciary and iso- The new supervision system will be a pared with the same period in 2016 (when
lated from family or lawyers. In 2016 Hu- mixture of the two. At the top is the new the old rules still applied), by 30% in Bei-
man Rights Watch, an NGO, documented commission, which the law says will be jing, 40% in Shanxi, a province west of the
cases of beatings, sleep deprivation, stress led by the Communist Party and share capital, and 92% in Zhejiang, near Shang-
positions and other forms of torture in space and personnel with the Central hai. Shanxi’santi-corruption chiefattribut-
shuanggui jails. That makes it sound as if Commission for Discipline Inspection ed the rise to efficiencies created by pool-
Mr Xi’s unexpected move is a step forward (CCDI). The CCDI is the party’s anti-cor- ingthe resources ofparty and state.
forhuman rights. It may not be. ruption body and one of the most feared
The abolition of shuanggui is the most institutions in the country. It is responsible No smoke without some ire
visible part ofa sweepingreform that in ef- for Mr Xi’s purge of officials. Below the A sense of the system’s likely impact
fect sets up an entirely new branch of gov- commission there will be a ladder of low- comes from inspection tours organised
ernment. Called the National Supervision er-level agenciesthatwill workwith courts this summer by the Ministry of Environ-
Commission, it is designed to streamline and the procurators’ offices (ie, with the mental Protection offactories in the north-
administration, improve the implementa- state judicial system). Like other govern- east, China’s rust belt. The aim of such
tion of policy and eliminate protectionist mentbodies, the agencieswill report to the tours is to close down those that are ex-
rules in the cities and provinces. A draft National People’s Congress, the rubber- ceeding legal limits on pollution. The min-
law governing the commission appeared stamp parliament, which is supposed to istry makes them all the time but its edicts
in November; three provinces, Beijing, control them. are typically flouted. This time was differ-
Zhejiang and Shanxi, have been giving it a The new law would expand the CCDI’s ent. Inspectors from the CCDI came along.
trial run as it undergoes a public review. It powers. It will be allowed to investigate all Terrified polluters promptly closed dozens
is provinghighly controversial, but is likely officials, not just party members, and its offoundries and smelters.
to get the go-ahead nationwide in March. mandate will include “improper conduct If an expanded CCDI can improve law
Unlike most countries, China has two by state employees”, meaning that it will enforcement in this way, then many busi-
pyramids of authority, the state and the probe officials’ ethical standards and polit- ness people, as well as those living in Chi-
Communist Party. High-ranking officials ical beliefs, not just their compliance with na’s most polluted places, will welcome 1