Labor camp mother wins case

A high court in Hunan Province on Monday ruled in favor of Tang Hui, the mother of a rape victim, who was sent to a labor camp after petitioning for a harsher sentence for her daughter's attackers.

Two weeks after a second hearing on July 2 at the Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court in Changsha began, a final verdict ordered the Yongzhou re-education through labor commission to pay Tang 2,641.15 yuan ($430) in compensation for sending her to a labor camp in August 2012. However, the court did not support her appeal for a written apology from the commission.

Tang's case was dismissed in an earlier court verdict by a local court in Yongzhou in April.

The final verdict for the case, which has led to nationwide discussions on the controversial re-education system, delivers a gesture of apology from the government to labor camp victims and indicates government resolution to reform or even abolish the policy, an expert said.

"I didn't expect to win. After all these years I had almost lost hope, but the verdict has cheered me up," said Tang, 40, whose then 11-year-old daughter was raped and forced into prostitution in 2006.

Tang has been petitioning ever since, claiming local police officers tried to protect the rapists. The provincial high court in June 2012 sentenced two suspects to death, four to life imprisonment and another to 15 years in prison. However, Tang demanded harsher punishments and her constant petitions eventually resulted in her being sent to a labor camp for 18 months. A provincial authority later revoked the decision, and Tang was released after nine days following a nationwide outcry.

Pu Zhiqiang, Tang's lawyer, told the Global Times he welcomes the verdict but regrets that the court noted Tang violated the law when petitioning. According to the commission, Tang threatened police with suicide attempts, and made a scene during petitions, which seriously disrupted social and government order.

"She expressed her appeals through petitions, which is her lawful right. Her actions might be dramatic but she just wanted to solve the problems," Pu said.

Pu said he received a text message Monday morning from Jiang Jianxiang, Yongzhou's police chief and director of the re-education commission, congratulating him on winning the case.

Jiang did not show up at court Monday. During the July 2 hearing, Jiang apologized to Tang for "not having offered the family enough humanitarian care." He told the Global Times via phone that he "would like to see Tang getting back to a normal life and her daughter growing up without anyone reminding her of the past."

"The government will do its best to care for the family," Jiang said.

Tang said she does not want much media attention on her personal life, but would like to take part in public activities to call for the protection of teenage girls, given a spate of recent cases about young girls being sexually abused or molested.

Xu Liping, Tang's another lawyer, told the Global Times the case is not powerful enough to shatter the re-education system, although it has led to heated debates and the sending of petitioners and others to labor camps has been denounced both at home and abroad.

"Tang winning the case is a positive signal that the whole nation, from the grass roots to the decision-makers, agree that the system has flaws and should be abolished or replaced. Yet it's hard to say when it will take place," said Hu Xingdou, a professor with the Beijing Institute of Technology, who was among the first scholars to propose the abolishment of labor camps in 2003.

In January, China's top security official Meng Jianzhu said the system would be reformed by the end of the year.

A pilot program to reform the system is reportedly underway in four cities, although details are unclear.

"These are uplifting changes," said Hu. He said the exposure of a series of high-profile labor camp scandals would "help push forward the building of a country ruled by law, instead of by men."