Reeducation through labor
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Reeducation through labor (laodong jiaoyang 劳动教养, abbreviated láojiào 劳教) is a system of administrative detentions in the People's Republic of China which is generally used to detain persons for minor crimes such as petty theft, prostitution, and trafficking illegal drugs, as well as crimes against the state such as leading unregistered Chinese House Churches for periods up to four years. The abolishment of the system was proposed in March of 2007 by the Chinese government, in an effort to improve human rights (Asian Human Rights Commission, March 2007). The proposal includes implementing the removal of the fences surrounding the camps, renaming them correctional facilities, limit the maximum term to 18 months and shifted the emphasis to moral education over labor. The current laojiao sentences are passed down by police without judicial review (Asian Human Rights Commission, March 2007). The proposed system would allow a judicial review after punishment is imposed (Asian Human Rights Commission, March 2007). Laojiao is distinct from laogai or "reform through labour" which denotes the Chinese prison system as a whole. Persons detained under laojiao are detained in facilities which are separate from the general prison system. However both systems involve penal labor.
It has been criticized by human rights groups as not offering procedural guarantees for the accused and for being used to detain political dissidents such as leaders and members of Chinese house churches, and Falun Gong practitioners. Its abolition has been the focus of a number of human rights activists.
The China Labor Bulletin estimates that currently there are over 300,000 detainees at laojiao centres, (Asian Human Rights Commission, March 2007) half of which, the US State Department reports, are Falun Gong practitioners. As unpaid laborers the workers at laojiao centers constitute what Marx termed a 'reserve army of labor', contributing to the Chinese economy.
