II. Guaranteeing the Rights
of Criminals
According to Chinese law, a criminal's due rights during his or her
prison service are protected and may not be violated.
In the semi-feudal, semi-colonial China of the past, prisons were tools
of the feudal, bureaucratic and comprador classes who used them to
persecute and slaughter revolutionaries and the oppressed people. In the
1940s, special agents sent by America and Chiang Kaishek savagely
tortured and secretly murdered revolutionaries in Zhazidong and
Baigongguan prisons near Chongqing. These atrocities remain fresh in the
minds of the Chinese people even today. In those days even petty
criminals were treated very cruelly. After the founding of the People's
Republic, the people's government established a new type of socialist
prison, where the prisoners are regarded as human beings, and where their
dignity is respected, their personal safety is ensured and where they
receive fully humane treatment.
In accordance with the current laws of China, the main rights of
criminals while they are in custody include the following.
--- In response to decisions made by the people's courts, criminals now
have the right to appeal. In 1990 and 1991, more than 40,000 such appeals
were accepted and heard in Chinese courts. A criminal accused of having
committed a crime during his prison service has the right to defend
himself or ask someone else to defend him during the legal proceedings.
--- Criminals have the right to protection against assault on their human
dignity or personal safety under all circumstances. In response to any
illegal action on the part of a warden or guard, such as obtaining a
confession by torture, administering corporeal punishment or otherwise
maltreating a prisoner, the victim has the right to appeal to the
people's procuratorate, the people's court, the people's government or
any other institution to expose and report such treatment.
--- Criminals who have not been stripped of their political rights have
the right to vote according to law.
--- Criminals have the right to make reasonable suggestions concerning
the management, the educational programme, production, recreational
activities, or sanitary conditions of a prison or reform-through-labour
institution.
--- Criminals have the right to lead a normal life. The State guarantees
material needs such as food, clothing, housing, etc. The average per
capita living space for prisoners is over 5 square metres. Efforts are
made to make all prison buildings solid, clean, well-insulated and
well-ventilated. Statistics show that, the average prisoner consumed
22.75 kg of grain, 20-25 kg of vegetables and considerable amounts of
pork, beef, mutton, fish, poultry, eggs and tofu in 1990. The average
daily dietary intake of calories is 2952 Kcal per person. The annual
average living expenses for a prisoner in different regions of the
country is around 650 yuan, close to the average living standard of the
local residents.
--- Prisoners have the right to maintain good health. They enjoy free
medical care and receive a regular medical checkup every year. If they
become ill, prompt medical treatment is given. Criminals suffering from a
serious disease have the right to get medical treatment outside the
prison on bail according to law. A female prisoner who is pregnant or
breast-feeding her baby may serve her sentence outside of prison. Someone
who suffers from a difficult or complicated illness, may be seen by
outside medical experts called in to make a joint diagnosis or may be
sent to an outside hospital for treatment. Currently China has a
three-tier medical network within the reform- through-labour system
consisting of the provincial central hospital, the prison or
reform-through-labour institution hospital and the basic clinic.
Altogether there are 2,944 medical institutions of various kinds. There
are 3.54 medical doctors and 14.8 hospital beds per thousand prisoners,
with both rates higher than the national average for society as a whole.
--- Prisoners have the right to exchange letters with their relatives and
friends and to regularly meet with family members. Prisons and
reform-through-labour institutions have special reception rooms where
prisoners can meet with their family members. When some misunderstanding
or conflict causes a prisoner's friends and relatives to stop visiting or
writing, an organ of the reform-through-labour institution does its best
to reconcile them.
Criminals have the right to an education. China's reform- through-labour
institutions have set up the facilities necessary for the education of
their prisoners, who receive a regular primary or junior secondary
education according to their individual educational backgrounds. A
prisoner with a more advanced background may receive a senior secondary
or college education. A prisoner may receive vocational training, laying
the foundation for supporting himself or herself with his or her own
hands on return to society. They are allowed to read books, newspapers
and magazines, listen to the radio and watch TV, in order to learn about
major domestic and international events and maintain a certain amount of
contact with society outside the prison.
--- Criminals have the right to believe in a religion. The Chinese
Government permits prisoners who are so inclined to maintain their
original religious beliefs while in custody.
--- Criminals enjoy certain civil rights, including property and
inheritance rights. Property which was lawfully obtained before a
criminal's imprisonment is protected under the law. A convicted criminal
has the right to collect his earnings and dispose of his property.
Criminals have the right of inheritance under the law. A prisoner's
rights to a patent or copyright obtained during a prison term are
protected by law. Prisoners also have the right to sue for divorce and
the right to fight a divorce action in court.
--- The Chinese Government provides special treatment which is different
from the general prison population in terms of daily activities,
administration, labour requirements, etc. to juvenile, female, elderly,
infirm and disabled prisoners in addition to minority nationality Chinese
and foreign prisoners in full consideration of this group's special
physical and psychological traits, physical strength limitations and
daily customs. Juveniles are kept in juvenile deliquent rehabilitation
centres which operate on the principle of "relying mainly on reform
through education supplemented by light physical labour," which is
actually a kind of vocational study. Prisons and reform-through-labour
institutions have special dining rooms for minority nationality prisoners
with special dietary customs.
--- A prisoner may have his sentence reduced for good behaviour or be
released on parole according to law.
The legislative bodies and the government of China have drawn up
appropriate laws and regulations to protect the legal rights of
prisoners. Wardens and guards must receive special legal and vocational
training, then be certified before taking a post. It is strictly
forbidden to torture, insult or otherwise maltreat prisoners. Cases of
unlawful administering of corporeal punishment are thoroughly prosecuted,
including making an investigation to affix blame for the crime. In other
words, in accordance with the provisions of the criminal law of China, a
serious case of illegal corporeal punishment of a prisoner which
constitutes "administering unauthorized corporeal punishment to a
detainee" is tried in the people's courts, where any penalty is also
decided. In 1990 and 1991, there was a total of 24 wardens and guards
sentenced to imprisonment for this crime. The People's Procuratorate has
sent permanent teams to prisons and reform-through-labour institutions to
supervise the law-enforcement activities of these institutions and
protect, according to law, the prisoners' right to appeal, right to make
accusations and right to report unlawful activities. Deputies of the
people's congresses and members of the committees of the political
consultative conference at all levels visit the prisons and
reform-through-labour institutions from time to time to check on law
enforcement there. For example, in 1991 more than 30 members, composing
four groups, from the National Committee of the Political Consultative
Conference and the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Political
Consultative Conference visited the No.1 Prison in Beijing to inspect the
law enforcement work being carried out there.
At the same time, prisoners must fulfill their obligations under the law.
These include: to abide by the laws and decrees of the State and the
prison regulations and rules of discipline jointly drawn up by all the
reform-through-labour institutions; to accept supervision and education
from the wardens and other personnel; to actively participate in
productive labour; to accept ideological, cultural and technical
education; to take proper care of state property and protect public
facilities; to behave in a civilized manner, be polite and observe common
courtesy; to report criminal offenses; to become more self-disciplined
and take part in group activities; to reform, bearing in mind the nature
of the crime.
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