China to abolish labor camp

A woman gets emotional when meeting her son receiving reeducation through labor in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, May 10, 2013. [Photo by Deng Deng/Asianewsphoto]

BEIJING - China will abolish the "reeducation through labor" system as part of a major effort to protect human rights, said a key policy document of the Communist Party of China (CPC) published Friday.

China will also reduce the number of crimes subject to the death penalty "step by step," according to the CPC Central Committee's decision on issues concerning comprehensively deepening reforms.

The decision, approved by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee on Tuesday, was seen as a detailed reform roadmap for China in the coming decades.

Laws relating to correction and punishment will be improved. Community-based correction which helps convicts return to society will also be improved.

The country will work to ban extorting confessions through torture and physical abuse, the document said.

Courts will be told to tighten the practice of ruling out illegally obtained evidence, while law enforcement agencies will regulate procedures of sealing up, seizing, freezing and handling properties involved in judicial investigations.

Wrong judgements will be prevented and corrected in a better way and those responsible will be investigated and could face punishment.

The country will also work to improve legal aid for citizens.

"Lawyers will play an important role in protecting the legal rights and interests of citizens and corporations in line with the law," the document said.

Their rights to practice will be protected and their malpractice will be punished under improved systems, it said.