Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 851 Visit

To get to the detention area, you have to go through the detention center. Xiaowei and Director Sun walked in side by side.

"This is Director Zhang from the provincial department. You two should get to know each other. Director Zhang doesn't get to come to our place very often, haha." Director Sun introduced them, gestured with his hand, and accompanied Xiao Wei to the back: "Our place is different from prison. Short-term prisoners don't have to work. They just stay in the room. Apart from not being able to move around freely, it's actually more relaxed than labor camp."

The male police officer stared blankly as Xiao Wei walked over, licking his lips, while the female police officer, Xiao Hu, had stars in her eyes.

Re-education through labor is a unique form of administrative punishment in my country and North Korea; only these two countries in the world have this system.

Those undergoing re-education through labor are not criminals, nor have they committed any crimes, or rather, minor crimes. It is an administrative punishment, so there is no need for a court verdict. Like detention, it can be decided directly by the public security organs according to relevant regulations, and the term is from three months to four years.

Re-education through labor is not the same as reform through labor. Its definition has always been vague, falling somewhere between illegality and crime. It usually lasts from three to six months, during which the inmates participate in collective labor every day. However, their treatment is much better than that of prisoners who are actually sentenced to prison. Their living benefits are comparable to those of ordinary citizens, and their living and medical expenses are covered by the state.

Aside from working and obeying orders, there were no other restrictions. Smoking, drinking, and speaking were much more relaxed. Generally, labor camps were conducted based on the principle of proximity, meaning they were carried out in the place where one's household registration was located. Often, when working, one would run into acquaintances, friends, or classmates, offering them a cigarette and chatting for a while without anyone interfering, as long as one didn't run away. And nobody did run away.

In fact, our laws and regulations are all like this—extremely flexible and arbitrary. There are no specific regulations on how long the period should last; it's all decided by local law enforcement officers, depending on their mood. Moreover, re-education through labor doesn't require judicial procedures, making it even more arbitrary, which is why it was abolished in 13.

For over sixty years, due to its arbitrary nature and lack of judicial procedures, countless wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice were committed during the labor camp system. The phrase, "Believe it or not, I'll put you in there," was no joke; all it took was knowing a few people in the public security system.

Ordinary people have always been unable to distinguish between re-education through labor and reform through labor, and have regarded re-education through labor as a crime and sentencing. Out of respect for the law, they have accepted their grievances.

In the 90s, labor camps were often used by certain individuals to make money. When there was no one available, they could simply recruit a group of people from the community. Since there was no oversight and no need to go through the legal process, the projects couldn't stop. Demolition, transportation, digging ditches and planting stakes, unloading trucks and planting trees—wherever there was work, there were labor camp inmates.

Spoiler alert: back then, most of the violent demolitions across the country were carried out by labor camps. They'd just lift people and their belongings out, and bulldozers would come up. Sometimes they wouldn't even care about the things; they'd just dump the people out and be done with it. Burying stakes and installing utility poles in people's vegetable gardens, leaving them in a complete mess, and it was so common that if the homeowner said a few words, the whole family would be beaten and hospitalized—it wasn't even a topic of conversation.

Back then, the labor camp was entirely the private property of the team leader, and it was quite lucrative.

Two released prisoners can ride public transport for several months with their release notices.

……

Passing through the detention center, you enter a closed corridor with a large iron gate, and rooms on both sides of the corridor.

Director Sun waved his hand, and a staff member came over to open the iron gate. As soon as the iron gate opened, the corridor, which had been filled with noisy chatter, immediately became quiet. People who were wandering around inside quickly found a place to sit down and glanced outside.

Director Sun said, "This is the women's area, the men are inside, and your brother is in cell 22." The two walked down the long, dark corridor, the fluorescent lights overhead casting a bluish glow that made their faces appear particularly pale.

After passing through another iron gate, we arrived at the men's section. The men there were bolder, and some of them were seasoned veterans, used to being confined, and didn't treat the place like a big deal. They chatted and laughed as if nothing was wrong, showing off their arrogance. Only the first-timers were afraid.

When they reached the door of the room marked with a red "22", Director Sun raised his hand to indicate that it was a room.

Xiao Wei walked over and peered through the observation hole in the iron gate.

There were two kang beds, one on the north side and one on the south side. A few tattered thin quilts were laid out. About ten people sat on and under the kang, each with messy hair. There was a damp smell mixed with the smell of urine in the air. A man who had just urinated in the toilet walked out barefoot with his hands holding up his pants. He rubbed his feet on the cement floor and then climbed onto the kang. He found a corner and sat down against the wall.

Zhang Fu sat by the window, looking dejected. His usually sleek and shiny hair was gone, and his clothes were all wrinkled. He was holding a clipboard, his chin resting on his knees, lost in thought.

Director Sun said, "Should we go in? There are very few fights here; they usually happen over a few days. The longer ones are yet to come, and then we'll have to get to work."

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "No need to trouble yourself. I'll just take a look. Make sure he doesn't get beaten up. Everything else will be fine. Director Sun, you don't need to worry. If I wanted to take care of him, I would have just not let him in. It's good for him to learn a lesson. After all, he's my uncle and brother, and I don't want him to go astray."

Director Sun nodded: "I understand, don't worry, it's nothing."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, that's settled then, thanks. What time will he arrive tomorrow?"

The two turned back, and Director Sun said, "People are usually dispatched at 3 PM, or 9 AM if there are a lot of people. There aren't any strict rules; you can come pick him up anytime."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll pick him up tomorrow. Actually, I didn't want to come today. My mom scolded me all morning, so I had no choice."

After exchanging business cards with Director Sun, Xiao Wei had just taken out his keys to open the car door when the horn blared and a 212 pulled up, turned a corner, and stopped next to Xiao Wei's car. Li Zhongguo jumped out of the car: "Xiao Wei? What are you doing here?"

Director Sun greeted him, "Here comes Captain Li."

Director Li Zhongguo nodded to Director Sun and looked at Xiao Wei. Xiao Wei asked, "Uncle Li, what are you doing here?"

Li Zhongguo said, "I'm recommending someone, what are you doing here?"

Xiao Wei said, "My uncle's son, Xiao Fu, is in custody. My mom insisted that I come and visit him. You've been quite busy lately, haven't you? It's been a long time since I've seen you."

Li Zhongguo patted Xiaowei on the shoulder and said, "You said you couldn't see me? I haven't caught a glimpse of you since I moved here. This guy, today it's Xidu, tomorrow it's Dalian, and then he ran off to Harbin. I think the Northeast can't hold you anymore."

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "I couldn't help it, things just happened."

Li Zhongguo said, "I was just looking for you these past couple of days. My son, Jiale, is coming back. Could you, as the section chief, help me out with something?"

Xiao Wei said, "Brother Jiale? You've graduated? What do you want to do?"

Li Zhongguo took off his hat, scratched his head, put the hat back on, and said, "What else can I do? Become a policeman. There's no point in joining the government. His father is incompetent and can't help me much."

Xiao Wei said, "Why don't you just tell Director Qin yourself? Why do you need me to?"

Li Zhongguo shook his head and said, "I don't want him to be a criminal investigator. It's too tiring, a life where he's neither at home nor at home. Let him work in a police station, or something like traffic control would be best. You can ask Director Liu to talk to him for me."

(End of this chapter)