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| Chinese Court Ruling Deals a Blow to Labor-Camp System | Chinese Court Ruling Deals a Blow to Labor-Camp System |
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| BEIJING — As compensation for an official act of injustice, the $429 a Chinese court awarded the mother of a rape victim on Monday was relatively paltry. Symbolically, the money carried a wallop. | BEIJING — As compensation for an official act of injustice, the $429 a Chinese court awarded the mother of a rape victim on Monday was relatively paltry. Symbolically, the money carried a wallop. |
| That is because the award, issued by a high court in Hunan Province in southern China, was an explicit acknowledgment that the mother, Tang Hui, had been wrongly sentenced to a labor camp last year after she publicly demanded that some of the men convicted of kidnapping, raping and prostituting her 11-year-old daughter be more harshly punished. | That is because the award, issued by a high court in Hunan Province in southern China, was an explicit acknowledgment that the mother, Tang Hui, had been wrongly sentenced to a labor camp last year after she publicly demanded that some of the men convicted of kidnapping, raping and prostituting her 11-year-old daughter be more harshly punished. |
| Two of the men were sentenced to death; five others were given long jail terms. But Ms. Tang, who was largely responsible for rescuing her daughter after the local police bungled the case, demanded that all those involved in the crime be executed. | Two of the men were sentenced to death; five others were given long jail terms. But Ms. Tang, who was largely responsible for rescuing her daughter after the local police bungled the case, demanded that all those involved in the crime be executed. |
| As part of the court’s decision on Monday, the local police chief who meted out Ms. Tang’s original 18-month sentence offered her an apology. | As part of the court’s decision on Monday, the local police chief who meted out Ms. Tang’s original 18-month sentence offered her an apology. |
| The ruling, which overturned a lower court decision, was another public blow to re-education through labor, a widely reviled system of punishment that allows the police to send away minor offenders for up to four years without trial, and with little chance for appeal. | The ruling, which overturned a lower court decision, was another public blow to re-education through labor, a widely reviled system of punishment that allows the police to send away minor offenders for up to four years without trial, and with little chance for appeal. |
| For some legal experts, the ruling provided further evidence that the ruling Communist Party is preparing to modify a Mao-era extralegal judicial system that has become increasingly untenable, both to international bodies like the United Nations and among the Chinese public. | For some legal experts, the ruling provided further evidence that the ruling Communist Party is preparing to modify a Mao-era extralegal judicial system that has become increasingly untenable, both to international bodies like the United Nations and among the Chinese public. |
| The case of Ms. Tang, popularly known as the “petitioning mama,” has been widely covered in the domestic news media. On Monday, even People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, hailed the decision and demanded an end to re-education through labor. “All of society should remember the misfortune and hardship endured by a mother, and more importantly, the duty of the judicial system, which is to let the people experience justice and fairness,” it said. | |
| Although the system is mostly used to punish drug addicts, prostitutes and petty thieves, the authorities in recent years have found it to be a convenient tool for corralling members of banned religious groups, political dissidents and “abnormal petitioners,” which is how the government in Yongzhou, Ms. Tang’s hometown, viewed her activities. | |
| Ms. Tang spent hours kneeling outside the provincial high court in Changsha, and traveled to Beijing to file appeals with the central government. Annoyed and embarrassed, the local authorities in Yongzhou decided in August to send her away, saying her behavior disturbed social order and was “exerting a negative impact on society.” | Ms. Tang spent hours kneeling outside the provincial high court in Changsha, and traveled to Beijing to file appeals with the central government. Annoyed and embarrassed, the local authorities in Yongzhou decided in August to send her away, saying her behavior disturbed social order and was “exerting a negative impact on society.” |
| When word spread through social media, public outrage was so severe that the provincial authorities took the rare step of ordering her set free. Not satisfied, Ms. Tang turned around and sued the committee responsible for her original labor-camp sentence. | |
| Reached by phone on Monday, Ms. Tang said she had mixed feelings about the decision, which included a spoken apology from the police chief of Yongzhou, not the written one she had demanded in her lawsuit. “At this point, I want to let bygones be bygones,” she said softly. “I want to spend more time with my daughter and to wipe all those bad things from my memory. I just want some peace and to have a good rest.” | Reached by phone on Monday, Ms. Tang said she had mixed feelings about the decision, which included a spoken apology from the police chief of Yongzhou, not the written one she had demanded in her lawsuit. “At this point, I want to let bygones be bygones,” she said softly. “I want to spend more time with my daughter and to wipe all those bad things from my memory. I just want some peace and to have a good rest.” |
| In the months since the Chinese government issued a cryptic statement through the state news media, saying it would “advance reforms” of re-education through labor, legal experts have seen increasing signs that the system is on the way out. Several provinces have stopped issuing new sentences, and the media has been given relatively wide latitude to discuss the issue. In recent weeks, one of the country’s most notorious camps, Masanjia, in China’s northeast Liaoning Province, has been steadily releasing its remaining inmates, according to several former prisoners. | |
| But some legal advocates are unsure whether the government will abolish the system or simply create a more publicly palatable creature that accomplishes the same goal. They note that the police are already funneling prostitutes and drug addicts to compulsory “rehabilitation centers” that provide little opportunity for appeal. Given the government’s determination to keep its plans under wraps, many experts have been left to speculate. | But some legal advocates are unsure whether the government will abolish the system or simply create a more publicly palatable creature that accomplishes the same goal. They note that the police are already funneling prostitutes and drug addicts to compulsory “rehabilitation centers” that provide little opportunity for appeal. Given the government’s determination to keep its plans under wraps, many experts have been left to speculate. |
| John Kamm, whose organization, Dui Hua Foundation, advocates for criminal justice overhaul in China, said the decision by the Hunan court to recognize the injustice suffered by Ms. Tang was largely a concession to popular anger. “It’s public relations,” he said. | John Kamm, whose organization, Dui Hua Foundation, advocates for criminal justice overhaul in China, said the decision by the Hunan court to recognize the injustice suffered by Ms. Tang was largely a concession to popular anger. “It’s public relations,” he said. |
| Like many legal experts, he has been encouraged by the signs of change, but said that without comprehensive overhaul, China’s criminal justice system would continue to serve the government’s insistence on social stability. “If they want to get rid of R.T.L., they can have trials, and with 99 percent conviction rates, put people away for two to three years,” he said, using the initials for re-education through labor. “Even dissidents will tell you they prefer trials to R.T.L., but let’s not get carried away and celebrate yet.” | Like many legal experts, he has been encouraged by the signs of change, but said that without comprehensive overhaul, China’s criminal justice system would continue to serve the government’s insistence on social stability. “If they want to get rid of R.T.L., they can have trials, and with 99 percent conviction rates, put people away for two to three years,” he said, using the initials for re-education through labor. “Even dissidents will tell you they prefer trials to R.T.L., but let’s not get carried away and celebrate yet.” |
Patrick Zuo and Chen Jiehao contributed research. | Patrick Zuo and Chen Jiehao contributed research. |