Laojiao

(勞動教養or勞教). “Re-education through labor” camps, instituted by the CCP in 1957. They should not be confused with laogai. Inmates are sent to laogai based on a decision by a court of law, while no judicial decision was needed to send somebody to a laojiao. An administrative order by a security agency was enough. The laojiao system was widely used for dissidents, devotees of banned religions, and real or suspected “counter-revolutionaries.” The laojiao were abolished in 2013, and replaced by the transformation through education camps.