ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces some of the policy recommendations that were advanced and considers how the response to the 'hide and seek' scandal casts light on attitudes to the deprivation of liberty in China and the role of the kanshousuo in the criminal process. Taking place in a period of debate over criminal procedure reforms, the scandal informed discussions of a revised law which was eventually approved by the National People's Congress (NPC), in March 2012. Consideration of the response to the 'hide and seek' case assists to tentatively 'evaluate' China's overall approach to detention and the extent to which the criminal process is founded on respect for human rights. Scandals have been an important driver of criminal justice reform in many countries. A review of what is known of the conditions in the kanshousuo, the daily regime, detainees' contact with the outside world and the approach to security, suggests a substantial gap with prevailing international standards of good practice.
