NCJ Number
134245
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 15 Issue: 1 and 2 Dated: (Spring/Fall 1991) Pages: 175-186
Date Published
1991
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article examines evidence on prison conditions in China and the cultural and historical contexts in which such evidence must be viewed
Abstract
Most investigations of Chinese prisons during the 1980's emphasized the humaneness of conditions and belief in and the practice of inmate rehabilitation. Although each cell usually houses several inmates with sparse furniture, the general quality of inmate life is deemed as no worse than that of the average Chinese citizen. The goal of imprisonment -- as codified in law, as described by visitors, and as portrayed by prison officials -- is to rehabilitate offenders through ideological education and labor. Inmate education focuses on Chinese history and society; inmate families are encouraged to visit; and model prisoners are used as tutors to assist other inmates in understanding why they commit crimes and to help them become rehabilitated. Other evidence, however, indicates harsh treatment in China's prisons. Amnesty International (1990) found evidence of beatings and torture of persons arrested after the events at Tiananmen Square. Although charges of inconsistency may also be raised regarding prison conditions in the United States, corrections policy in China may accurately be described as consistent but dualistic, i.e., reformative for some and deliberately harsh for others. 34 references