Tag: national people’s congress

Diary written by a detainee and smuggled out of Masanjia RTL. The story of Masanjia RTL became a sensation in PRC and was one of the most popular news stories on the PRC’s top four news websites. China quickly censored the news and shuttered Lens Magazine which published the story.
Diary written by a detainee and smuggled out of Masanjia RTL. The story of Masanjia RTL became a sensation in PRC and was one of the most popular news stories on the PRC’s top four news websites. China quickly censored the news and shuttered Lens Magazine which published the story. [Photo: Seeingredinchina.com]
On Saturday 28 December 2013, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee voted to abolish Re-education Through Labor (RTL; Ch: laojiao).  This fulfills the promise the People’s Republic of China made in the 3rd Plenum Decision on 15 November 2013 to abolish the 56 year old Chinese system of gulags that had been used to imprison people in forced labor camps for up to four years.

When the National People’s Congress Standing Committee announced the abolition of RTL, it stated that it was because changes made to Chinese laws had made RTL redundant and it had fulfilled its historic mission.  This justification fails to recognize the fundamental problems inherent in RTL.  It ignores the substantial criticism of RTL for being an illegal system of arbitrary detention, forced labor, and torture.  Internationally, numerous States, NGOs, and international organizations, including the United Nations criticized RTL for violating international human rights law. 

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