Lawyers hail Yunnan's suspension of laojiao system

Chinese legal experts have expressed their support for a decision by southwest China's Yunnan Province to suspend the use of the much-disputed labor camp sentence -- "laojiao."

According to an announcement earlier this week by Yunnan Politics and Law Committee chief Meng Sutie, the province will stop sending people to re-education through labor camps on grounds including threatening national security, petitioning by causing unrest, and smearing the image of officials.

Approvals of laojiao for other cases are also suspended, Meng said. The move has made Yunnan the first Chinese province to halt laojiao sentences, which have been criticized for being prone to abuse.

Wang Qiliang, vice dean of the law school of Yunnan University, hailed Yunnan's decision for setting an example for other Chinese regions.

Wang described the system as a legacy of a time when China lacked legal means to penalize many minor offenses. As China has basically completed its legal framework, he said, the system should be consigned to history.

"Now its ills have outweighed its benefits, its very existence goes against the rule of law," Wang said.

The re-education through labor camp system was established in the 1950s to consolidate the newly founded republic and rectify social order. It allows police to detain people, usually charged with minor offenses, for up to four years without an open trial.

Many experts believe it contradicts the Constitution and has been abused by local officials to safeguard "social security."

Wang said the three kinds of laojiao sentences Yunnan has stopped were the most prone to misuse and triggering social unrests.

Jiang Tiansheng, a lawyer in Kunming, capital of Yunnan, said legal professionals have paid close attention to the laojiao reforms.

"Whether to abolish it or replace with some other means of correcting illegal acts, it is imperative to end unchecked police power and protect people's liberty and basic civil rights," according to Jiang.