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I. China's Basic Principles of
Criminal Reform

People can be reformed. The great majority of criminals can also be
reformed. Turning minuses into pluses and changing criminals into people
who are useful to society are in conformity with the great Marxist ideal
of liberating all of mankind. Consistent with this understanding, China
does not simply punish criminals; instead it emphasizes reform and change
for the better. Therefore, even in the case of criminals who have
committed serious offenses, China has always adhered to its laws and
policies, which call for a minimum number of executions.

In the actual practice of criminal reform, China pays close attention to
implementing the principles of humanitarianism. Criminals are not only
provided with proper living conditions, but their human dignity is also
respected. Humiliating of prisoners is forbidden. Chinese law clearly
stipulates that criminals are to be provided with a humane level of
material comfort during their prison terms and that the staff in prisons
and reform-through-labour institutions must handle criminals in a
civilized manner.

China strictly protects the due rights of criminals. Chinese law
stipulates the various civil rights not restricted by law to which a
criminal is entitled during a prison term. There are specific legal
provisions concerning the rights a criminal must enjoy during the entire
process from initial detention to release after serving the sentence.
Chinese law forbids any maltreatment of prisoners by the prison staff and
prisoners have the right to file charges according to the law. The law
clearly stipulates criminal sanctions for any prison staff guilty of
dereliction of duty.

In the reform of criminals, China operates on the principle that
education is very important, attaching great importance to physical
labour in addition to legal, moral, cultural and technical education to
encourage criminals to stop looking at time in prison as a forced prison
term and think more in terms of conscientious reform, to give up the idea
of obtaining personal gain through criminal means, to form the habit of
respecting other people and society in general, and to obtain the work
skills needed for later employment so that they may become law-abiding
citizens.

China attaches great importance to helping criminals change by means of
persuasion. Therefore, China brings the efforts of specialized state
organs and society together to reform criminals. Reforming criminals is
mainly the responsibility of state organs in charge of
reform-through-labour programmes and is carried out at prisons and
reform- through-labour institutions. At the same time, under China's
socialist system, reform of criminals is the common concern of society
and receives energetic support from the public. Every sector and level of
society supports and helps coordinate this work through the entire
process of criminal reform, including resettlement and employment after a
criminal has served his term and is released from prison.

Due to the implementation of the above-mentioned principles, China has
met with great success in criminal reform.

--- China has successfully reformed war criminals. It did not use capital
punishment on any of the Japanese war criminals, the war criminals of the
puppet Manchuria regime, the Kuomintang war criminals or on the last
emperor of the feudal Qing Dynasty. After their reform, over one thousand
Japanese war criminals received lenient treatment and were returned to
Japan. Most of them have taken an active part in anti-war activities,
supporting peace and promoting Sino-Japanese friendship. After receiving
special pardons and being released, the war criminals associated with the
puppet Manchuria regime and the Kuomintang war criminals, including the
last Qing Emperor, Aisin Giorro Pu Yi, became law-abiding citizens and
did their best to work for the good of the country and the people.

--- China's rate of recidivism is among the lowest in the world. For many
years, it has been around 6% to 8%. In contrast, the rate of recidivism
in some developed western countries is around 20% or 30% with some going
as high as 50%, 60% and more.

--- About 400,000 criminal cases are brought to trial every year in
China. The country's crime incidence rate among the population is about 2
per thousand per year, which is among the lowest in the world.

The rate of recidivism and the crime rate are the main criteria for
judging the effectiveness of a country's efforts to reform criminals.
China's success in the reform of criminals proves that its principles and
policies, as well as its laws and system are correct for handling the
reform of criminals.

China is a developing country and the conditions and environment for
criminal reform in China are still restricted by its level of economic
and social development. With progress in its socialist modernization
drive and constant improvement in its legal system, the country's efforts
to reform criminals will reach new heights of success.

Extracted http://www.hellomandarin.com