In May 2006, the Beijing authorities announced that they would extend the use of a form of punitive detention without trial - Re-education Through Labour (RTL) - as a way to “clean up” the city’s image before the Olympics.
Used since the mid-1950s, RTL was once described in an official legal newspaper as punishment for actions which fall “somewhere between crime and error”. Offences punishable by RTL include serious cases of unlawful advertising, unlicensed taxis, unlicensed businesses, vagrancy and begging. It is also used to detain those engaged in peaceful protest or dissent. People can be held in a RTL facility for up to four years without charge, trial or judicial review.
Bu Dongwei was assigned to two-and-a-half years’ of RTL for his activities as a member of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned in China. Officials from Tuanhe RTL facility have reportedly asked his family to contribute money towards his living expenses.
According to his family, Bu Dongwei has been subjected to torture and other forms of ill treatment, including being beaten and deprived of sleep.
RTL has long been criticized within China as a form of detention that is not properly established in law, is frequently imposed arbitrarily, and leaves too much power in the hands of the police.
The RTL system, based on administrative procedures, continues to breach China’s own 2000 Legislation Law stipulation that detention may only be imposed through laws passed by the National People’s Congress. The Legislation Law is often cited as a key part of China’s drive to establish the “Rule of Law”.
Attempts to substantially reform or abolish RTL appear to have stalled. A new law, the Illegal Behaviour Correction Law, designed as a replacement for RTL, remains at a draft stage, but there are no signs that it will be introduced in the near future.
