Prison Labor camps in China
Prison labor has been a common practice since sixteenth century. According to available historical information, prison labor started in the 1788 in Britain when victims of minor misdemeanors in the nation were transported to Australia as convicted labor (Wu, and Williams 51). Despite the many human rights concerns against prison labor, in this 21st century, prison labor camps form a competitive economic value in nations such as the Peoples Republic of China. Statistics indicate that China is still secretly marketing products produced in its prison labor camps.
The concept of globalization and its creation of economic competition among nations have been blamed for the continued prison labor practices by some nations. This has prompted some nations to engage in forced labor practices on crime offenders in the society as a source of cheap labor. A good example is the laogai system in China, which is a vast network of prison camps engaged in providing cheap labor to Chinese prison industries (Laogai Research Foundation). Indeed, some economic analysts have attributed this Chinese prison camp networks with the low priced products by nation in the global market.
Despite this competitive economic advantage, prison labor camps are a major source of human right abuse. This is because they serve as a contradiction to the individual right to fair and justice treatment by the government. Still, such facilities are marked with poor living condition as well as lack of effective rehabilitative services to ensure sustainable reforming of crime offenders. Therefore, prison labor camps are an exploitative method of punishing crime offenders rather than a reforming system.
The History of Prison Labor Camps
Historical information dates the practice of on prison or convicted labor by governments back to the sixteenth century. During the period of between 1788 and 1888, the Britain traded its crime offenders to Australia for convicted labor services. Just to be appreciated, such convicted crime offenders included even committers of minor offenses like petty theft. During the 19th century, Britain established prison labor as a standard for punishing offenders of serious felony crimes such as rape and murder (Wu, and Williams, 52). Although such crimes were well defined under the Offences against the Person Act of 1861, it is claimed that prison labor was occasionally applied to less serious crimes like on individual behavior perceived to harm the societal norms.
The beginning of the twentieth century was particularly marked with widespread prison labor camps among various nations. Examples of such camps were found during the Second World War in Germany under the Nazi party regime (Muhlhahn 154). In 1948, Czechoslovakia implemented prison labor camps for punishing political prisoners and other members of the nation who were perceived as enemies of the state. Historical information also indicates that Japan operated forced labor camps for war prisoners. In addition, the Soviet Union operated the Gulag prison labor camps for political prisoners during the 1950s (Anderson, and Seymour 36). The United States of America also had policies for prison labor camps during the twentieth century. However, most of these nations no longer practice such forms of crime offender punishments.
The history of formal prison labor camps in the People Republic of China dates back to the 1950s (De Mente 231). During this time, the camps were used for accommodating offenders of political and religious crimes. It is worth noting here that most of these prison labor camp victims were set free during the Deng Xiaoping reforms of 1970s. Despite this, there is sufficient evidence that laogai centers are still common in the People Republic of China even in the twenty first century. Available information indicates that the problem is particularly common in the Tibet and Qinghai regions. Many claims have asserted that products produced by prison labor form a considerable share of revenue gained by the Chinese government from exports.
Prison labor camps in China are usually organized as production factories and are mainly involved green tea growing, engines production, and coal mining, and processing (Luard). Available statistics on the laogai prison camps in China indicate that since 1960s, an estimated over 50 million Chinese have served in the prison labor camps (Laogai Research Foundation). It is worth to appreciate that the Chinese criminal justice system, recognizes laogai as a humane punishment, which instills behavioral change on prisoners through involuntary labor. This perception of laogai centers is thought to be the main reason behind its long term existence in the Chinese government.
Human rights perspective on prison labor camps
The practice of operating prison labor camps in China has received numerous critics for violation of human rights. The Chinese government economic policies identify human resources is the most important resource for the realization of economic prosperity of any nation (Pejan). This makes provision production labor in China not an optional but a mandatory requirement for the citizens. Nevertheless, critics of the prison labor camps perceive victims as being enslaved to provide low cost labor for the government of China. An emphasis to this claim is qualified by the fact that prison labor camp prisoners earn a salary of between 0.37 and 0.44 per month (Kennedy 251). This is a negation of the human dignity and of the right to fair employment.
Living conditions and sanitation is another humanitarian problem facing prison labor camp victims in the People Republic of China (Laogai Research Foundation). According to the available statistical evidence, the living conditions in the camps are quite poor. Such statistics indicate that most of the living rooms are not cemented while others are made of wood. Also, such facilities lack furniture and baths as well as unreliable water supply. In addition, it is commonly claimed that prisoners use buckets for latrines (Laogai Research Foundation). Moreover, the prisons are highly populated with an estimated ten people living in a single room. All these are blamed for the high incidences of disease outbreaks in the prison labor camps. (Laogai Research Foundation).
Another human rights violation in the prison labor camps of China is clothing. The Chinese government provides various types of clothes for the different types of laogai camps, depending on the economic conditions of the region (Pejan). However, these clothes are usually stamped with an identification mark fan to signify criminal. True to evidence from reliable sources, the government does not provide the prisoners with things like underclothes, socks and jackets (Levine 119). This is a contradiction of human rights given the low monthly pay they get from their forced labor services. The question of quality food provision for the prisoners remains a thorny issue. Though problem varies from region to region, the trend has significantly moved since 1960s to date (Laogai Research Foundation).
These prison labor camps have been attributed with diseases outbreaks and pests (Pejan). Numerous health reports indicate that bedbugs and lice are common types of pest in the prison labor camps. Due to the severe sucking of prisoners blood by these pests, most prisoners sustain serious skin and body infections (Pejan). On the problem of diseases in the camps, prisoners are faced with the problem of developing malnutrition associated health complications. The most common type of diseases includes diarrhea, constipation, beriberi, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and scurvy (Congressional Executive Commission on China).
In addition, health care services for the prisoners are poor, thus making most of the diseases among the prisoners to go untreated. This is further complicated by the fact that even when sick, prisoners are forced to work for as many as twelve hours. Such are responsible for weakening the body immune system of the victims, a factor that contributes to the highly rates of death among prisoners. Prison labor camp prisoners usually serve for exaggerated long terms relative to their crimes (Laogai Research Foundation). This makes many to undergo serious brainwashing, thus leading to high levels of insanity and suicidal behaviors upon release.
Working condition in the prison labor camps is found to be a violation of fundamental human rights (Pejan). Productivity of prisoners in these camps is predetermined by the government and failure to meet such targets risk solitary confinement. On the other hand, exceeding productivity target might leads to provision of better diet to the prisoners. However, critics claim that such provisions cannot match the energy burned to realize the extra production (Pejan). Another problem is that some work sites such as core mines have poor safety conditions (Pejan). This is not only a negation of the value of life, but also the principles of reasonable return for service provision by a workforce.
Why the world is blindsided when it comes to prison labor camps
Despite the numerous critics on the practice of prison labor camps in China by human right activists, the world seems blindsided on the human right crisis brought by the practice. This has been attributed to various reasons. First, China is currently a major international business partner to most of the influential global economies. As an explanation, since mid twentieth century, the People Republic of China has remained the most favorite business partner to the United States of America. Most of the products marketed by the Chinese government to foreign countries are claimed to be produced in these prison labor camps (Laogai Research Foundation). This economic advantage brought by the practice by other nations is found to compromise their concern for its social implications.
Still, the fact that other nations have the practice is to be blamed for the failure by the global community to condemn prison labor camps in China. It remains a hard task and a contradiction of the truth to condemn a particular practice in one nation while still practicing it locally. In the United States of America for example, prisoners are bound to work as a way of supplementing their prison upkeep costs as well as accumulating some income for sustaining them after release from prison. In 1997, the Clinton administration signed a regulation to implementing a Civilian Inmate Labor Program . On the other hand, 2005 saw President George W. Bush sign a regulation on establishing both military and civilian prison camps in America. With such a trend in other nations, the question of prison labor camps in China cannot be sufficiently addressed by the global community.
Another commonly cited reason is the question of respect for the sovereignty of independent nations. Prior to the establishment of the international law and the United Nations organization, political and human rights concerns could be addressed through military operations This, coupled by the long history of strong social and economic relationships with most other world powers complicates the problem of fighting prison labor camp practices in China(Pejan). Such has the implication of limiting the possibility of imposing economic sanction as a tool for rectifying the problem of human rights abuse, a factor that makes economic power influence a reason behind the failure by the world to address prison labor camps in China.
Impact of prison labor camps on the Chinese economic boom
Given the economic policies, which establish prison labor camps (laogai centers), such camps have no doubt contributed much to the Chinese economic boom (Luard). Available information indicates that considerable amount Chinese exports are produced by prisoners under the laogai center schemes. In fact, the people republic of china has openly praised laogai camps as an effective correction tool for crime offenders while sufficiently boast the growth of the Chinese economy (Pylman).
It has been established that Laogai camps are mainly concerned with farm and mine productions as well as production factories (Laogai Research Foundation). Reliable statistics have evidence that an estimated one quarter of the Chinese overall tea production is from prison labor camps. In addition, it is claimed that Shengyang Laogai camp produces an approximated 60 percent of the total rubber vulcanizing chemicals in china. On the other side, Ziangride Laogaicamp is responsible for the production of over 22,000 tons of corn grain annually (Laogai Research Foundation). All these and others camps play an important role in boosting the economic stand of China in the local and global market.
The question of cheap and reliable labor is another economic advantage brought by prison labor camps in China. As stated above, the average monthly pay for victims of prison labor camps in China ranges between 0.37 and 0.44, a pay that is far much low compared to the normal job market rates in the nation (Pejan). Also, living conditions and sanitation in the camps are poor (Laogai Research Foundation). The government only provides minimal food, usually imbalanced, for the survival of the prisoners. This is further complicated by the dictate for predetermined forced productivity by the prisoners. Therefore, in such an economic setting, the Chinese economy has no doubt boomed from the laogai camps policies.
The consequences of having prison labor camps
The practice of prison labor camps in China has been associated with numerous negative consequences. First, laogai camps are a source of human right abuse instigated by the Chinese government (Anderson, and Seymour 41). The sole purpose of the government is to uphold and respect the rights of its citizens as dictated for in the civil rights bill of the constitution. This means that the Chinese must respect the purpose of prison facilities as correction centers rather than a source of cheap and forced labor for driving high the nations economy.
Critics of the forced labor practices have cited the poor living conditions evident in the prison labor camps. In a nation, which perceives crime offenders as a production force for its economic boom, there is every reason to provide quality living conditions at the camps (Luard). As per the available information, in laogai camps, ten prisoners are accommodated in a single small room with neither a latrine nor a bathroom (Laogai Research Foundation). The camps are also poorly managed to the extent of having numerous pest and disease, all of which only serve to compromise the sustainable health of the convicted victims.
Another consequence of prison labor camp policies in China is that it does not engage in ensuring effective correction of offenders. From the existing evidence, laogai camps are blamed for brainwashing of Chinese citizens (Laogai Research Foundation). To be emphasized here is the fact that the sole purpose of any effective prison punishment should be to ensure sustainable reforming of crime offenders as a way of enhancing their compatibility back into the society.
In the case of the laogai camps, training prisoners for professional talents and skill is rarely given priority by the government (De Mente 235). This has the implication that, once freed, prisoners find little skills to help them realize economic independence. Such is further complicated by the fact that while at the camps they are usually given low salaries (Laogai Research Foundation). Due to this reason, many have been found to suffer from mental disorders as well as engaging in suicidal behaviors after release from prisons. Still, this can be seen as a direct reason for the high rates of relapse into criminal activities after going back into the society.
In addition, prison labor camps have negative economic implications to the individual victims and their families. Despite the fact that the Chinese nation is governed by communism, the society is substantially capitalistic by nature. This has the implication that by engaging crime victim in long term forced and unpaid labor services, the government is greatly compromising the living standards of the dependents to the crime offender (Laogai Research Foundation). Still on this, according to available psychological evidence, having a family member engaged in forced prison labor services is emotionally distressing.
Possible solutions to the problem
There are various ways of resolving the problem of prison labor camps as a tool for mitigating crime in the society. One way is employing effective rehabilitation to ensure sustainable reformation of crime offenders (Congressional-Executive Commissions on China). The principles of effective correction of crime offenders dictate for need to have checks and balances to ensure sustainable reforming. To realize this, rehabilitation of offenders is a solution since it helps the criminal to appreciate the need to change for the better, a factor that serves to ensure sustainable security in the human community.
Still on rehabilitation, most crime offenders in the community are either mentally impaired or under the influence of drugs. Therefore, by failing to treat this psychological problem, our criminal justice systems are failing to appreciate the need for preventing crime in the community. Just to be noted is that we cannot change the behavior of a mentally ill by punishing them. This is because such crime offenders can rarely appreciate the aim of the punishment.
Also an alternative solution to the problem, the government should strive to find a lasting solution to the underlying factors, which lead to criminology in the community (Congressional-Executive Commissions on China). Crime in the community is caused by a number of social and economic factors. This means that identifying and eliminating these factors can sufficiently aid in eliminating crime in the community. Therefore, an effective crime control policy must engage consolidated efforts among the community, law enforcement and the government in appreciating the need for enhancing the social and economic factor that cause crime.
Moreover, the problem of human abuse associated with prison labor camps can be solved by engaging in human friendly imprisonment practices by the Chinese government. Prisons should not be used as facilities for intimidating citizens. Indeed, such facilities must function to protect the fundamental rights of the people. The government should therefore endeavor to promote the living and sanitary conditions of the prisons. Such are important for mitigating unnecessary deaths or rebellion among prisoners.
The problem can also be mitigated by giving prisoners reasonable pay for their services as well as allowing them to gain skills through training while in the prison labor camps. Every government has its own standards of enumerating its citizens for economic services rendered. This simply fact must be respected even for the crime offenders. For the particular case of China, prison labor camps are no doubt a common source of additional revenue to the government. Therefore, it can only be equated to labor exploitation for the government to pay such workers as low as 0.37 per month.
The People Republic of China is termed as the only developed country, which is still practicing prison labor camps in this twenty first century. According to available information on the practice, the nation enjoys crucial competitive economic advantages for the productions made by the prisoners (Kennedy 251). This is because it gives cheap and highly reliable labor as well as minimal sustenance cost by the government.
Nevertheless, prison labor camps are an issue of controversy due to their violation of human rights of the victims. Such camps are usually marked with poor living conditions. This is the reason behind the numerous number of death found among prisoners (Laogai Research Foundation). Forced labor of any kind is against human right. Nevertheless, in prison labor camps, victims are forced for a predetermined quantity of production in not less than twelve hours a day (Pejan).
There are various solutions to the problem. The government should not only engage in effective rehabilitation practices but also seek a lasting solution to the factors causing crime in the community. Such factors could be social, political and economic and without resolving them, crime activities are bound to relapse. The government should also endeavor in improving the living condition in prison camps to reflect its treasure for human dignity and rights.
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