China to reform system of forced labor camps
Source: Xinhua |
January 8, 2013, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
China will reform its controversial system of forced labor camps this year, according to a national political and legal work conference yesterday.
The "re-education through labor" system, in place since 1957, empowers police to sentence petty criminals to up to four years' confinement without going through the courts, a system critics say undermines the rule of law.
Public criticism of the system grew following two recent cases.
Last month, a court in southwest China's Chongqing City rejected an appeal from Ren Jianyu, a 25-year-old village official sentenced to two years in a labor camp in September 2011 for criticizing the local government on the Internet.
Last August, a woman in central China's Hunan Province was sentenced to 18 months in a labor camp after demanding tougher penalties for seven men who were convicted of abducting and raping her 11-year-old daughter.
Tang Hui, who petitioned courts and local government officials for tougher penalties for her daughter's captors, was released within a week following complaints from academics, state media and the public.
Ma Huaide, vice president of the China University of Political Science and Law, said criticism stemmed from the abuse of the labor camp system and the lack of a legal basis in randomly expanding its scope to cover unwanted petitioners.
According to the Bureau of Re-education Through Labor under the Ministry of Justice, 160,000 people were held in 350 centers nationwide as of the end of 2008.
The public would welcome the abolishment of the system, Ma said, adding that the National People's Congress, the top legislature, should amend laws concerning labor camps in order to maintain the stability and validity of the system after reforms are carried out.
Ma stressed that the courts should follow legal procedures in deciding whether to restrict any citizen's personal freedom.
Jiang Wei, a senior official in charge of judicial reforms, said last October that the necessity of the reforms had been recognized and a related plan was being formulated.
The labor camp system played a role in consolidating the Party's rule and safeguarding social stability in the early years of the People's Republic of China, which was founded in 1949, said Wang Gongyi, former director of the judicial institute of the Ministry of Justice.
However, problems have emerged, Wang said, adding: "The system contradicts the Constitution, the Legislative Law and the Administrative Penalty Law."
The "re-education through labor" system, in place since 1957, empowers police to sentence petty criminals to up to four years' confinement without going through the courts, a system critics say undermines the rule of law.
Public criticism of the system grew following two recent cases.
Last month, a court in southwest China's Chongqing City rejected an appeal from Ren Jianyu, a 25-year-old village official sentenced to two years in a labor camp in September 2011 for criticizing the local government on the Internet.
Last August, a woman in central China's Hunan Province was sentenced to 18 months in a labor camp after demanding tougher penalties for seven men who were convicted of abducting and raping her 11-year-old daughter.
Tang Hui, who petitioned courts and local government officials for tougher penalties for her daughter's captors, was released within a week following complaints from academics, state media and the public.
Ma Huaide, vice president of the China University of Political Science and Law, said criticism stemmed from the abuse of the labor camp system and the lack of a legal basis in randomly expanding its scope to cover unwanted petitioners.
According to the Bureau of Re-education Through Labor under the Ministry of Justice, 160,000 people were held in 350 centers nationwide as of the end of 2008.
The public would welcome the abolishment of the system, Ma said, adding that the National People's Congress, the top legislature, should amend laws concerning labor camps in order to maintain the stability and validity of the system after reforms are carried out.
Ma stressed that the courts should follow legal procedures in deciding whether to restrict any citizen's personal freedom.
Jiang Wei, a senior official in charge of judicial reforms, said last October that the necessity of the reforms had been recognized and a related plan was being formulated.
The labor camp system played a role in consolidating the Party's rule and safeguarding social stability in the early years of the People's Republic of China, which was founded in 1949, said Wang Gongyi, former director of the judicial institute of the Ministry of Justice.
However, problems have emerged, Wang said, adding: "The system contradicts the Constitution, the Legislative Law and the Administrative Penalty Law."
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