Reform and Development of China's Prison System

Author: Dai Yanling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: I had always thought that writing in front of others' works was a "disreputable thing," so, Teacher Dai (because she had taught me before, I call her like this) kept urging me, "Write something, even critical!" Criticizing others' thoughts was something I was not willing to do. However, if one can persist in pursuing something for twenty years without giving up, I think, just from her perseverance alone, she deserves respect. Teacher Dai's exploration in the field of prison studies is exactly like this. I admire her, and that became my reason for picking up my pen. Although what I wrote is just my personal feelings about prisons. For ordinary people, "prison" is just a mysterious and terrifying word, saying someone "went in, got into trouble." Detention centers and prisons are the same thing. When I was a child, I heard that there was a prison on Roman Street in my hometown, and I was so scared that I never dared to walk down that street. After starting to work, I finally understood that its official name was the county public security bureau's detention center, but its predecessor was indeed the county prison during the Republican era. Due to conformity and the dominant consciousness of society, regardless of any social system, most people naturally believe that those locked inside "are all bad people." Bad people are locked up, and they should suffer as much as possible—what else is there to care about? Prisons also become places of revenge in people's minds. If someone is dissatisfied with or holds a grudge against someone, they will try their best to get them locked up. If they can't get them into "the state's" prison, they might even build their own, like Liu Wencai's water dungeon. Even those trapped behind bars believe that "there's no good outcome" is a matter of course, and "suffering" is the inevitable result of being imprisoned. Those who manage to walk out of the prison gates always feel relieved that they finally made it through, that fate has been kind to them. How many people stand up for the torment they endured? For the state, prisons are a tool of "convenient and direct" control by those in power. Prisons themselves are a product of the state. Most of the time, rulers treat prisons as a means of suppressing dissent. In simple terms, it's to build a fence and lock away those who don't obey and troublemakers (some of whom are outsiders), rendering them powerless, while also serving as a warning to more subjects. Apart from thieves, robbers, killers, and rapists who directly harm the public's interests, prisons often hold large numbers of political dissidents, people the rulers don't want to see, and those who dare to resist the existing regime. Therefore, in the history of state development, people often evaluate prisons in a contradictory way. Because many later called "righteous men and scholars" or even rulers themselves have spent time in the prisons of previous generations. As a result, prisons of the past become targets of accusation and condemnation, while contemporary prisons quietly strengthen. Objectively speaking, prisons are a sign of the progress of human society. With prisons, people can be locked up first, whether through humiliation or torture. It's better than beheading upon capture. One of the main functions is to give rulers the possibility of repentance and the chance to show magnanimity. When rulers, in anger, lock someone up, if they later realize they made a mistake or have a change of heart, that person (or those people) gains hope for life. In fact, within the state machinery, prisons hold the same status as courts and armies. Those in power use prisons one hundred percent, but pay little attention to them. Mao Zedong had greatness in his greatness. Shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mao said, "Our prisons are not like the old ones. Our prisons are actually schools, factories, or farms." Why are they called schools? Of course, it is to educate those locked up so that they can become useful to society and the people. Although our prisons were essentially factories or farms for a long time, this statement still became the main basis for China's prison reforms twenty years later. It is estimated to be the most frequently cited text in prison studies in China so far. For society, prisons are merely an existence, a cell. Most of the time, prisons are not mentioned. Whether rulers or ordinary people, none are willing to waste time and energy on prison issues. Prisons have truly become machines for "locking up" and "releasing." However, society is always progressing, even though the progress of its various forms comes at different times and speeds, as a whole, it cannot allow one cell to remain unchanged. In my understanding of the word "society," I have always believed it is the "universe" of humanity, the space shared by all human existence. The existence of the state is merely an artificial division of society into countless small and large isolated spaces, but these divisions are temporary, and some are even futile. For example, humanity's pursuit of freedom, equality, peace, and prosperity is something no ruler can suppress. For humans on Earth alone, the shared society is already before us. The European Union is continuously advancing the process of European integration. I believe that the slogan of "promoting the integration of the international community" will not be far off. Then, as a feature of modern society, judicial fairness and supremacy of civil rights naturally make prisons a target for reform, because the meaning of justice and civil rights is most concentratedly reflected in prisons as a social cell. If one broadens the meaning of a prison, people will fully see how important it is to have civilized prisons in building a civilized society, or in other words, a civilized society must necessarily have civilized prisons. In the past two decades, China's prison reforms have gone through stages from simple prison management improvements to rational prison system reforms, with three generations of people taking up the cause. Looking back, I can also be considered one of those who called for it. Coincidentally, I got to know Teacher Dai during this period of reform. It was around this time that she asked me to write an article, partly because of this. In fact, I have been away from the prison system for a long time, and even left the judicial system, rarely reading books about prisons anymore. But Teacher Dai has never stopped her passion for researching prison issues. I remember that before and after the implementation of the Prison Law, she was always excited, and along with her colleagues, she had already written the manuscript for An Introduction to the Prison Law. She then studied the details of the law and issues in its implementation, and was invited to teach at some universities and prisons, and even did a special program on CCTV. In the past decade, she began to study prison issues within the context of the overall development of society, trying to explore the construction of a social, legal, and humane prison, proposing many new ideas, especially daringly proposing the establishment of a systematic system for protecting the rights of prisoners. This has undoubtedly played a very positive role in further improving China's judicial system, especially in prison reforms. A few years ago, she was invited to Germany for a year and a half of scientific research, focusing on the similarities and differences between Chinese and German prison systems, as well as the European prison system, and conducting objective comparative analysis. I think the book we see now should be a concentrated reflection of Teacher Dai's research over the years. I hope, as I wish, that prisons can become the "control valve" of society, rather than a tool of human revenge. Li Qi October 20th, 2000