Laogai

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Laogai (Chinese: 劳改), short for láodòng gǎizào (劳动改造), which means reform through labor, was a criminal justice system involving the use of penal labor and prison farms in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Láogǎi (劳改) is different from láojiào (劳教), or re-education through labor, which was the abolished administrative detention system for people who were not criminals but had committed minor offenses, and was intended to "reform offenders into law-abiding citizens". Persons who were detained in the laojiao were detained in facilities that were separate from those which comprised the general prison system of the laogai. Both systems, however, were based on penal labor. Some writers have likened the laogai to slavery.

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