People's Republic of China
Laogai was a word, short for "reform through labor", that referred to penal labour or prison farms in the People's Republic of China. The word itself was dropped in 1990 for "prison". In the 1960s, critics of the government were arrested and sent to the prisons which were organized like factories. There are accusations that the products of penal labor are sold and profit by the government.
The books of Harry Wu describe his experience in reform through labor prisons from 1956 to 1979. They say he was imprisoned for criticizing the government in college until he was released to the United States to become an activist. Party officials have argued that he far overstates the present role of Chinese labor camps and ignores the tremendous changes that have occurred in China since then.
There are accusations that Chinese labor camps produce products which are often sold in foreign countries with the profits going to the PRC government. Products include everything from green tea to industrial engines to coal dug from mines.
There have been reports of Falun Gong practitioners being detained at Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital, or "Sujiatun Concentration Camp". It has been accused that Falun Gong practitioners are killed for their organs, which are then sold to medical facilities. The Chinese government rejects these allegations. US State Department visited the alleged camp on two occasions, first unannounced, and found the allegation not credible. Chinese dissident and Executive Director of the Laogai Research Foundation, Harry Wu, having sent his own investigators to the site, was unable to substantiate the claims, and believes the reports were fabricated.
See also: human rights in the People's Republic of ChinaRead more about this topic: List Of Concentration And Internment Camps
Famous quotes containing the words people, republic and/or china:
“If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don’t be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning “Good morning” at total strangers.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
“Jean Jacques Rousseau ... is nothing but a fool in my eyes when he takes it upon himself to criticise society; he did not understand it, and approached it with the heart of an upstart flunkey.... For all his preaching a Republic and the overthrow of monarchical titles, the upstart is mad with joy if a Duke alters the course of his after-dinner stroll to accompany one of his friends.”
—Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle] (1783–1842)
“The awakening of the people of China to the possibilities under free government is the most significant, if not the most momentous, event of our generation.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)