Laogai

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Map of the Laogai in the People's Republic

Laogai ( Chinese  勞改  /  劳改 , Pinyin láo găi ), abbreviation of 勞動 改造  /  劳动 改造 , láo dòng gǎi zào  - “ reform through work ”, is a system of labor camps in the People's Republic of China . The Laogais are labor camps in which prisoners convicted by the courts are serving their sentences. Detainees in administrative detention usually spend their sentences in labor camps called Laojiao .

Laogais and Laojiaos

There are two different types of sentencing in the Chinese legal system . A defendant can either be placed in administrative detention by a police authority or convicted by an ordinary court. Inmates in administrative detention usually serve their sentence in labor camps called Laojiao (translated: "re-education through work"), while prisoners sentenced by ordinary courts serve their sentence in labor camps called Laogai (translated: "reform through work") .

While the system of administrative detention in China is far too unregulated in the political discussion, the criminal law on which the Laogais are based has been formulated quite clearly. The system of "re-education through labor" in the Laojiao was formally abolished in 2013, but the basic structures remain intact. The party continues to operate factories with prisoners as slave labor.

Number of inmates in China

In total there are about 1.4 million prisoners in China, so there is one prisoner for every 950 inhabitants, of these 1.4 million prisoners, 400,000 are in administrative detention. In the USA the ratio is one prisoner per 143 inhabitants, in Germany one prisoner per 1357 inhabitants.

Status of the courts in China

However, the clearly structured criminal law does not yet guarantee secure protection against political influence in the courts, especially since a self-confident judicial system is only very young. The level of training of judges and their self-confidence has improved massively in the last 15 years, while in 1995 only 5 percent of judges had a university degree, many were officers out of service, so in 2005 it was already half. At the beginning of the reform era, there were 3,000 lawyers ; in 2007 there were 150,000. As a rule, the courts now function quite well, but there are always interventions by political cadres in proceedings against politically inconvenient citizens. The Chinese proverb: "The police cook the food, the public prosecutor serves it, and the dish eats it" has only been partially overcome, especially since the standard of the big cities has not yet been reached in rural areas.

Political convictions

In 2007, 742 citizens were convicted of "violating state security", "disclosing state secrets", "inciting riot" or the like. In 2006 there were 344 convictions. In addition, there is still an unreported number of convictions of uncomfortable citizens, about which the estimates vary widely. The organization Amnesty International relies on the above figures and does not want to provide any additional figures of its own. Amnesty International states that the situation is too unclear to provide further figures and focuses its criticism on documented individual cases.

Abuses in the Laogais

Physical abuse and torture are prohibited in China, as the Chinese government has always emphasized. However, there are repeated cases of abuse in the Chinese camps. A brutal overseer is rarely punished. Camp inmates have no lobby, neither in the population nor in the government. In large parts of Chinese society, the opinion prevails that thieves and other "rabble" should be severely punished, one does not want to hear objections. In China, “restless” camp inmates can expect even less understanding. In addition, there are not enough good police officers who would work as overseers in the labor camps for the pay offered. There are so-called “semi-policemen” in the camps. These are often former unemployed or laid-off soldiers, with little training, poor pay and a reputation for being quick to strike.

Export income from forced labor

China generates income from the export of forced labor products , sometimes at dumping prices and via the Internet. The USA refuses to import them, but the European Union does not.

Final remark

Essentially, the laogais are an instrument of the penal system with a clear legal task. They are the labor camps for convicted criminals. There are also political prisoners in these camps . Although physical abuse and torture are prohibited in China, those political prisoners whom the government regards as its most dangerous enemies are so frequently mistreated that “Amnesty International” suspects that it is more than an offense on the part of individual guards.

Movie

  • Laogaï - China's system of forced labor , documentary, ZDF, Germany 2014

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Jim Yardley Many in Jails without Trial; NYT, May 9, 2005
  2. ↑ Laogai research foundation What is the laogai system?
  3. ^ Benedikt Köhler Every 143rd resident of the USA behind bars; Heise.de, July 29, 2003
  4. ↑ a b c Angela Köckritz: Human life, a lightweight. In: The time . July 31, 2008.
  5. ^ Rüdiger Falksohn: Olympia in Ketten Der Spiegel, April 7, 2008
  6. ↑ Martin Kotynek : Wave of suppression because of Olympia Süddeutsche Zeitung, April 2, 2008 ( Memento of the original from May 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sueddeutsche.de
  7. ↑ Ruth Kirchner Questionable Re-education.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: The Parliament , May 14, 2007@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.das-parlament.de  
  8. ↑ Georg Blume : China Awakes Die Weltwoche , April 23, 2008.
  9. ^ Journal EU , information from the FDP in the European Parliament 04/2010, p. 3.
  10. ↑ Laogai - Forced Labor in China ( Memento of the original from November 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , arte, accessed November 30, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.arte.tv