Laogai Flashcards
What were Laogai?
They were a sprawling network of labour camps for the CCP to imprison its enemies that were built in the nations most inhospitable border regions.
What were the conditions like in Manchuria?
Mosquito infested swamps.
What were the conditions like in Qinghai?
Bleak mountains.
What did the term ‘Laogai’ mean?
‘Reform through labour’
How many individuals were undergoing forced labour by the start of 1955?
1.3 million
How many people in the Laogai were ‘political prisoners of the Antis Campaigns?
300,000
What were the conditions like in the Laogai?
Inmates were forced to do back-breaking work in terrible conditions.
Diarrhoea and dysentery were common.
Torture and mistreatment were common.
Inmates were improperly fed.
What did the inmates in Sichuan have to do?
They had to build a railroad on the middle of winter without proper clothing.
How many people were estimated to have died in Laogai during Mao’s rule?
27 million
What were Laojiao?
They were communist re-education centers.
How much yuan did the Laogai contribute to the economy?
Over 700 million yuan.
How many tons of grain did the Laogai contribute to the economy
350,000 tons.
In what ways were the Laogai effective?
They were an effective means of intimidating and terrorising the population.
Effective in converting non-communists to communism through forced ‘rehabilitation’.
