Commentary: Reform of labor re-education system inevitable

 Commentary: Reform of labor¹ re-education system inevitable²

BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- After prolonged public complaints and a series of scandals, China's controversial re-education through labor system will finally be reformed, a move that is inevitable as the country endeavors to improve human rights and its legal and judicial³ system.

Earlier this week, Jiang Wei, a senior official in charge of China's judicial system reform, said the country is formulating⁴ reforms for the re-education through labor system, adding that the necessity of the reform has been recognized and a plan for the reforms is being developed.

Although the system has its basis in the country's legal system and has played an important role in maintaining social order, Jiang admitted some loopholes currently exist in the system's regulations and procedures.

China's re-education through labor system was approved by the top legislature and established in the 1950s, a time when the Communist Party of China (CPC) was consolidating⁵ the newly-founded republic and rectifying⁶ social order. From the end of the 1970s to the early 1980s, the system was modified to include more regulations.

According to an article published in July 2011 on the official website of the Bureau of Re-education Through Labor Administration under the Ministry⁷ of Justice, as of the end of 2008, 160,000 people were imprisoned⁸ in 350 re-education through labor centers nationwide.

The system was designed to maintain social order, prevent and reduce crimes by reforming people who committed minor⁹ offenses¹⁰ but were not punishable by the penal¹¹ code. It did play an important role in maintaining social order in specific periods, however, with the development of society and the legal system, its defects have become more and more evident.

The system allows police to detain people for up to four years without trial, leading many experts to believe that the system contradicts higher-level laws, including the Constitution.

The system also provides authorities with loopholes for abuse of power due to its unclearly defined nature, as well as insufficient¹² monitoring and restrictions¹³ in its approval procedures.

The system does not tally¹⁴ with the overall human rights situation in China. The country has strengthened its efforts to improve human rights in recent years, with two human rights action plans created since 2009.

In the latest human rights action plan (2012-2015) published in June, the government promised to develop a socialist¹⁵ democracy, improve the socialist rule of law and guarantee people's civil and political rights in an all-around way.

Many cases have shown that the labor re-education system has been misused¹⁶ to persecute¹⁷ innocent people and illegally punish protestors. The system has infringed¹⁸ on human rights and the rule of law, undermining the government's accountability.

A notable recent case occurred in August in central China's Hunan province, where a woman was sentenced to 18 months in a re-education through labor center after she demanded tougher penalties for seven men who were convicted of abducting¹⁹, raping²⁰ and prostituting her 11-year-old daughter.

Tang Hui, the mother, was released within a week following an outcry from academics, public opinion leaders and state media.

The system has drawn²¹ increasingly wide and fierce criticism from the public for years and the need for reform is more necessary at present.

China last year announced the successful formation of a socialist system of law with Chinese characteristics. The country also amended²² its Criminal Procedural Law this year, and the phrase "respecting and protecting human rights" is included in the revised law.

In fact, there are precedents²³ indicating that laws and regulations have been changed over time. In 2003, a regulation forcing urban homeless to enter government-run holding and deportation²⁴ stations and leave the cities for their hometowns was replaced by a new system that provides aid and services for homeless people.

The change was made following the death of a man in one of the centers.

On March 17, 2003, Sun Zhigang was detained at the Guangzhou Police Holding Center after police found that he had no identification. He was later beaten to death in detention²⁵.

Sun's death aroused nationwide attention and triggered reforms for the country's decades-old homeless collection and dispatching system, which violated human rights by restricting personal freedom.

Now it's time to reform the re-education through labor system, as it does not accord with the spirit of rule of law under current circumstances.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

3 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

4 formulating   

v.构想出( formulate的现在分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese government is formulating nationwide regulations on the control of such chemicals. 目前，中国政府正在制定全国性的易制毒化学品管理条例。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Because of this, the U.S. has taken further steps in formulating the \"Magellan\" programme. 为此，美国又进一步制定了“麦哲伦”计划。 来自百科语句

5 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网

6 rectifying   

改正，矫正( rectify的现在分词 )； 精馏； 蒸流； 整流

参考例句：

• James Gregory gave in in his "Geometriae Pars Universalis" a method of rectifying curves. James Gregory在他的《几何的通用部分》中给出了计算曲线长度的方法。
• Significant progress was made in rectifying and standardizing nonbank financial institutions. 整顿和规范非银行金融机构取得重要进展。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

10 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

11 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

12 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

13 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

14 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

15 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

16 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 persecute   

vt.迫害，虐待；纠缠，骚扰

参考例句：

• They persecute those who do not conform to their ideas.他们迫害那些不信奉他们思想的人。
• Hitler's undisguised effort to persecute the Jews met with worldwide condemnation.希特勒对犹太人的露骨迫害行为遭到世界人民的谴责。

18 infringed   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• Wherever the troops went, they never infringed on the people's interests. 大军过处，秋毫无犯。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was arrested on a charge of having infringed the Election Law. 他因被指控触犯选举法而被拘捕。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 abducting   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的现在分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• She was charged with abducting a six-month-old child. 她被控诱拐一个6个月大的孩子。
• At the same time, the rate of abducting foreigners is going down. 同时，发生在外国人身上的绑架案正在下降。

20 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

21 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

22 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

23 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

24 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

25 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。