Man freed after posting 'improper information'
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E-mail China Daily, November 21, 2012
Xu Xin, a law professor from Beijing Institute of Technology, said he felt relieved upon learning Ren has been freed, but said the officials who made the decision that led to Ren's sentence should be held responsible.
The laojiao system has been in the spotlight since early in the year, when several controversial cases of people being wrongfully sent for laojiao prompted public scrutiny of the 50-year-old method of punishment.
The laojiao system can confine a person for three years without going through the courts, and the punishment can be extended to a fourth year if the inmate is considered not sufficiently re-educated.
Jiang Wei, an official in charge of the Central Leading Group for Judicial Reform, admitted at a news conference in October that there are loopholes in the laojiao system.
Although Jiang upheld that the laojiao system is legitimate and positive in many ways, he admitted reform is necessary, such as in the approval procedure in which authorities decide if a person should receive a laojiao sentence.
Jiang confirmed previous media reports that pilot reforms have been rolled out in parts of the country, including Nanjing in Jiangsu province, but he did not reveal further information.
Wang Gongyi, director of the research office of the Ministry of Justice, said in October at a seminar that China has about 60,000 people serving a laojiao sentence, and most of them are serving a sentence of six months to one year.
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