REFORM

China to End Labor Camp Sentences

Won't serve as punishment anymore.

China will cease giving out labor-camp sentences this year, according to the country’s top law-enforcement official. During a conference, Meng Jianzhu, the head of the Communist Party Politics and Law Commission, reportedly said that although the system was once useful, conditions have changed. The move would be a major step in reforming China’s judicial system, but it is not clear what will become of existing “reeducation through labor camps” or their current inmates. China claims to have 310 labor camps, which hold 310,000 prisoners and employ 100,000 staff. One activist said, “This announcement is a very good thing, but we’d still like to hear them say that they’re getting rid of reeducation through labor entirely.”