Laogai Museum
Encyclopedia
The Laogai Museum is a museum
in Washington, D.C.
which showcases human rights in the People's Republic of China
, focusing particularly on the laogai
, the Chinese prison system. The creation of the museum was spearheaded by Harry Wu
, a well-known Chinese dissident who himself served 19 years in laogai prisons; it was supported by the Yahoo! Human Rights Fund. It opened to the public on 12 November 2008, and Wu's non-profit research organization (the Laogai Research Foundation) calls it the first museum in the United States to directly address the issue of human rights in China.
The Chinese penal system includes numerous components such as prisons (formerly referred to as laogai), re-education through labor or laojiao camps, ankang
mental health facilities, and juvenile detention centers. The Laogai Museum focuses mainly on the laogai component, which Wu's non-profit research organization calls "the most extensive system of forced labor camps in the world.". Prisoners in these camps are said to undergo forced labor and thought reform, and the system has attracted widespread criticism from the international community. In 1994, the government abandoned the term laogai and renamed the facilities "prisons" (jianyu), but the Laogai Research Foundation and others claim that forced labor continues and prison conditions have not improved.
The purpose of the Laogai Museum, according to Wu, is both to educate the public about the laogai and to memorialize the victims of the laogai. The museum documents the "history and structure of the laogai," and displays laogai-related materials such as uniforms, photographs, government documents, and products manufactured by prisoners—including such items as Christmas lights, tea bags, and plastic flowers; many of the items were donated by laogai survivors, and others come from Wu's own archives. The museum also has a large archive of prison-made products, victims' testimonies, and Chinese government documents, which is expected to be opened to the public in 2009.
The museum was funded in part by the Yahoo! Human Rights Fund, a fund established by Yahoo!
after the company attracted criticism for helping Chinese police locate and detain internet dissidents. The fund, headed by Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang was part of Yahoo!'s apology, and funding the museum was one of its first public projects.
A spokesman of the Chinese embassy has criticized the museum, calling it an attack on China's reputation and suggesting that Wu's motivation behind opening the museum was "to vilify the Chinese legal system and mislead the American public."
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
which showcases human rights in the People's Republic of China
Human rights in the People's Republic of China
Human rights in the People's Republic of China are a matter of dispute between the Chinese government, other countries, international NGOs, and dissidents inside the country. Organizations such as the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have accused the Chinese...
, focusing particularly on the laogai
Laogai
Laogai , the abbreviation for Láodòng Gǎizào , which means "reform through labor," is a slogan of the Chinese criminal justice system and has been used to refer to the use of prison labor and prison farms in the People's Republic of China . It is estimated that in the last fifty years more than...
, the Chinese prison system. The creation of the museum was spearheaded by Harry Wu
Harry Wu
Harry Wu is an activist for human rights in the People's Republic of China. Now a resident and citizen of the United States, Wu spent 19 years in Chinese labor camps. In 1992, he founded the Laogai Research Foundation. In 1996 the Columbia Human Rights Law Review awarded Wu its second Award for...
, a well-known Chinese dissident who himself served 19 years in laogai prisons; it was supported by the Yahoo! Human Rights Fund. It opened to the public on 12 November 2008, and Wu's non-profit research organization (the Laogai Research Foundation) calls it the first museum in the United States to directly address the issue of human rights in China.
The Chinese penal system includes numerous components such as prisons (formerly referred to as laogai), re-education through labor or laojiao camps, ankang
Ankang (asylum)
Ankang is a name shared by a number of psychiatric hospitals or asylums in China. The term literally means "peace and health [for the mentally ill]". Many of these institutions are prison-hospitals for holding prisoners judged to be mentally ill, and operate directly under the local Public...
mental health facilities, and juvenile detention centers. The Laogai Museum focuses mainly on the laogai component, which Wu's non-profit research organization calls "the most extensive system of forced labor camps in the world.". Prisoners in these camps are said to undergo forced labor and thought reform, and the system has attracted widespread criticism from the international community. In 1994, the government abandoned the term laogai and renamed the facilities "prisons" (jianyu), but the Laogai Research Foundation and others claim that forced labor continues and prison conditions have not improved.
The purpose of the Laogai Museum, according to Wu, is both to educate the public about the laogai and to memorialize the victims of the laogai. The museum documents the "history and structure of the laogai," and displays laogai-related materials such as uniforms, photographs, government documents, and products manufactured by prisoners—including such items as Christmas lights, tea bags, and plastic flowers; many of the items were donated by laogai survivors, and others come from Wu's own archives. The museum also has a large archive of prison-made products, victims' testimonies, and Chinese government documents, which is expected to be opened to the public in 2009.
The museum was funded in part by the Yahoo! Human Rights Fund, a fund established by Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
after the company attracted criticism for helping Chinese police locate and detain internet dissidents. The fund, headed by Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang was part of Yahoo!'s apology, and funding the museum was one of its first public projects.
A spokesman of the Chinese embassy has criticized the museum, calling it an attack on China's reputation and suggesting that Wu's motivation behind opening the museum was "to vilify the Chinese legal system and mislead the American public."