22 Chinese Urge End to Labor Camps
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BEIJING — Twenty-two activists and wives of dissidents serving labor camp sentences argued Tuesday that China’s “re-education through labor” camps are historical relics and should be abolished.
In a petition delivered to the legislature, the activists said the police-run labor camps violate the constitution and the criminal code.
It was the third day in a row that political activists have petitioned the National People’s Congress, which opens Sunday for its annual three-week session.
The legislature approved the establishment of the labor camps in 1957, during a Communist Party campaign against critics.
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