Torture, starvation, and lack of sleep are all things some people have to face every day. For years the Chinese have allowed for thousands of people to lose their human rights and suffer in labor camps. These labor camps are part of the re-education through labor act. They are meant to house the guilty but often hold the innocent. These camps violate several human rights: freedom from torture, right to rest and leisure, right to a fair public hearing, and the right to belief and religion. The Chinese people are suffering in these prisons and no one appears to be helping them, despite various accounts of their experiences and cries for help. People need to stand up to the Communist Party and reach out to help those who suffered and are suffering.
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In 2002, there was a congressional meeting in China on the topic of the re-education through labor camps: “In light of these problems, many Chinese scholars call for abolishing RETL. Even if it is not abolished, they suggest that it should be reformed. The maximum detention period should be reduced from four to one or two years. Courts, as opposed to public security organs, should decide whether the punishment can be imposed and such decisions can be challenged on appeal. Further, RETL should be incorporated into criminal law.” (China’s Criminal Justice System). Despite this request for reform, labor camps are still in operation in China. The doctor went on to to report that: “Official sources reveal that about 3.5 million people have been re-educated since its establishment in the 1950's. At present, 300,000 people are being held in the country's nearly 300 RETL camps, at least 1000 of whom are there because they are Falun Gong followers. Torture and maltreatment such as banning family visits and censoring inmates' personal correspondence are alleged to be commonly practiced in RETL camps.” (China’s Criminal Justice System). Even when faced with evidence of the lack of human rights, the Chinese did nothing to help these poor, helpless people stuck in the labor camps. A woman, Ms.Keith, who was one of the people who found the cry for help in a halloween decor product, sent the note to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency in December of 2012. The agency told her that they would look into it: “An agency spokesman, citing protocol, said that he could not confirm whether an investigation was under way, but that such cases generally took a long time to pursue.”(Andrew Jacobs, New York Times). In other words, the agency was not gonna do anything. If they truly had done something, there would have been results by now after six years. The
In 2002, there was a congressional meeting in China on the topic of the re-education through labor camps: “In light of these problems, many Chinese scholars call for abolishing RETL. Even if it is not abolished, they suggest that it should be reformed. The maximum detention period should be reduced from four to one or two years. Courts, as opposed to public security organs, should decide whether the punishment can be imposed and such decisions can be challenged on appeal. Further, RETL should be incorporated into criminal law.” (China’s Criminal Justice System). Despite this request for reform, labor camps are still in operation in China. The doctor went on to to report that: “Official sources reveal that about 3.5 million people have been re-educated since its establishment in the 1950's. At present, 300,000 people are being held in the country's nearly 300 RETL camps, at least 1000 of whom are there because they are Falun Gong followers. Torture and maltreatment such as banning family visits and censoring inmates' personal correspondence are alleged to be commonly practiced in RETL camps.” (China’s Criminal Justice System). Even when faced with evidence of the lack of human rights, the Chinese did nothing to help these poor, helpless people stuck in the labor camps. A woman, Ms.Keith, who was one of the people who found the cry for help in a halloween decor product, sent the note to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency in December of 2012. The agency told her that they would look into it: “An agency spokesman, citing protocol, said that he could not confirm whether an investigation was under way, but that such cases generally took a long time to pursue.”(Andrew Jacobs, New York Times). In other words, the agency was not gonna do anything. If they truly had done something, there would have been results by now after six years. The