Reflections On The Re-educational System Through Labor In Chinaand Initiative Comments On Its Reform

From the need of political stability to that of social peace and order, the unique re-educational system through labor with Chinese characteristics has had a history of 40 years, proving its value of existence. However , for the crudeness in legislative regulations and for lack of regulatory procedure, this system with many problems in its enforcement has been constantly questioned about its legality, rationality and j ustification. With such a long history, its problems can not be solved just by discussing its"legality", which can only give it "justification" in form, without guarantee for"rationality"in essence. A simple declaration of the end to the re-educational system through labor will only achieve a"satisfactory" result, but fail to accomplish anything in the protection of human rights and the maintenance of social stability and development.However serious the problems of the re-educational system through labor can be, they are, after all, the superficial phenomena which actually reflect, in depth, the matters of restricting public rights of the state, and protecting individual rights and liberty from being willfully encroached on. From a historical point of view the author will have a review of the birth and evolution of the re-educational system through labor,give an analysis on the defects and problems of this system in terms of substance and procedure, present personal views and plans on how to reform this system.