China to narrow scope of contentious detention and surveillance measure

Chinese lawmakers are proposing to restrict a contentious form of detention and police surveillance measure, among other changes to the country’s Criminal Procedure Law.

Known as residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL), the measure was originally intended as a mild restriction of personal freedoms to lower the rate of detention and arrest.

Since RSDL’s introduction in 1996 and expansion in 2012, it has become the harshest form of detention used in state security cases, including...