Great expectations
殷切希望
Reform of the labour-camp system would be welcome, but more change must come soon
劳教制度改革实属欢迎，但必须有更多实质性改革
Jan 12th 2013 | from the print edition
IN HUNAN province last August, Tang Hui was sentenced to 18 months in a labour camp. Her crime was to demand tougher sentences for the men who had kidnapped and raped her 11-year-old daughter. In days gone by, Ms Tang would simply have disappeared. In the age of the microblog, thousands of incensed middle-class people took up her case. Ms Tang was released, and on January 7th the government announced that the labour-camps system would be reformed (see article).
去年8月，湖南（信访妈妈）唐辉被判处8个月劳教。她的罪名是要求对绑架且强奸她11岁女儿的罪犯处以更重刑法。在过去，像唐辉这样的事件很容易被淡化。但在微博无处不在的时代，数以千计愤世嫉俗的中产阶级在微博上评论她的事件。因此唐女士被提前释放，中国政府在1月7号宣布对劳教制度进行改革。
In Guangzhou last week, allegedly under orders from the provincial propaganda chief, an editorial in Southern Weekend, a reformist newspaper, was altered before publication (seearticle). The original called for greater respect of rights enshrined in China’s constitution. The amended version praised the Communist Party and China’s political system. Some Southern Weekend staff called a strike and supporters protested outside their offices in Guangzhou, chanting political slogans of a sort rarely heard on China’s streets since 1989.
上周，广州省委宣传部长私自命令改动“改革系”报社《南方周末》的一篇社论（即新年贺词）。原文章呼吁尊重中国宪法规定的权利（《中国梦，宪政梦》）。删改版本则赞美共产党和中国政治制度。《南方周报》一些员工为此进行罢工，支持者则在广州的报社总部办公楼外抗议声援，举起了自1989年以来在中国很少看到的政治标语。
In both cases, officials were in breach of China’s constitution. There is nothing new in that. The officials were behaving as officials always have behaved. What has changed is the expectations of the people. Chinese citizens can no longer be pacified with economic growth and slogans. They want political change. How Xi Jinping, China’s new leader, manages this growing pressure for reform will determine his, and his country’s, future.
中国官员在这两起事件中违反了国家宪法，这已不是什么新鲜事了。官员们的处理方法一如既往，而变化的则是老百姓的期待。中国公民不再满足于经济增长这样的口号，他们期待政治改革。中国新任领导人习近平如何处理这种不断上升的改革压力将决定着他和中国的命运。
The justice system and press freedom are core reasons for popular discontent. China’s reform-through-labour system, known as laojiao, was set up in 1957 under Mao Zedong. It is different from the mainstream system of prisons and labour camps whose inmates have been through the judicial system. Established to deal with “counter-revolutionaries”, laojiao camps are now reserved for petty criminals, prostitutes and petitioners who embarrass the government. People can be locked up in them without trial for up to four years. They are said to hold around 160,000 detainees, possibly more.
司法体制和出版自由是民怨的重要原因。中国的劳动改造制度-劳教，于1957由毛泽东建立。它与主要的监狱制度和劳改营（犯人都是通过司法体系判刑）不同。劳改制度建立的初衷是打击反革命派（右派），而现在则针对轻微违法的犯罪人员，嫖妓者以及令政府难堪的请愿者。无需通过审判程序，就可以将这些人最长关押四年之久。据说这样的拘留者已有16万之多，甚至更多。
Hard labour and free speech 强迫劳役和言论自由
How serious the plans for reform are remains unclear. The microblog of a senior legal journalist quoted a senior legal official saying that the government would “stop using” thelaojiao system within a year. Hours later, however, Xinhua, the official news agency, reported that the system would be “reformed”, not abolished. Previous promises of reform have come to nothing; and even if detainees are to be allowed a lawyer and a judicial hearing, China’s legal system offers defendants few protections. Even so, many analysts are encouraged.
改革的前景尚不明朗。一位资深的法律新闻记者在微博上引用了一位高级法律官员的话说政府将在一年内停止劳教制度。然而，几个小时之后，官方喉舌新华社报道称劳教制度不是被废除，而是被改良。之前信誓旦旦的改革落得一纸空文；即便是允许劳改拘留人员有律师辩护以及司法听证，中国的法律体系仅对他们提供很少的法律保护。就算如此，许多政治观察者还是很受鼓舞。
Since the early 1990s there has been an implicit deal in China between rulers and ruled—that the rulers would ensure prosperity so long as the ruled did not demand too much freedom. Now many people seem to be reneging on the deal. They’ve got the prosperity, and they want the freedom too. As fast as internet censors delete critical articles and tweets, more angry middle-class people join the debate and start posting new complaints. On January 7th Yao Chen, a famous film star with more than 30m followers on her microblog, quoted Alexander Solzhenitsyn in support of the Southern Weekend journalists: “one word of truth outweighs the whole world.” Even people within the establishment are calling for political change. Last month 72 respected citizens, mostly academics and lawyers, signed a petition calling for radical reform.
自上个世纪90年代初开始，中国官方和民众有一个隐含的“买卖”—即只要民众不要求过多的自由，官方将会保证社会繁荣。现在似乎许多民众对此“食言”，他们已有繁荣的生活，也需要自由。批评性文章和社交网络已经发现就很快被网络审查制度删除，越来越多对此不满的中产阶级对此参与辩论，不断的刊登新的不满评论。1月7日，著名电影明星姚晨和其3000万微博粉丝引用索尔仁尼琴（俄罗斯）的一句话支持《南方周末》记者：“一句真话能比整个世界的分量还重。”甚至连党内人士也呼吁政治改革。上个月，72位德高望重的公民（大部分是学术者和律师）共同签署了一份提倡根本性改革的请愿书。
For liberal Westerners, ending censorship and labour camps is a moral imperative. For Mr Xi, a pragmatic authoritarian, the calculation is different, but if he knows what is good for him and his country, he will arrive at the same answer. The party’s efforts to maintain control through repression are leading to instability, not stability. Reform is risky, but avoiding it is riskier still.
对于西方的自由主义者，结束审查制度和劳改营是一种道德需要。对于务实派的习来说，想法却不同，但是倘若他知道怎么样才能对他和国家来说有利，他则会给出和前者一样的答案。共产党竭尽全力通过镇压来维持对人们的控制力，结果导致社会的不稳定，而非安定。改革是很冒险，但是不改革仍然是更加冒险的事情。
Mr Xi clearly understands the strength of popular feeling, particularly on the issue of corruption and official extravagance. As he tours the country, he has made much of avoiding the usual elaborate banquets. “Four dishes and a soup” has become the media shorthand for his more frugal, more open approach. But slogans against graft will no longer placate China’s people. Mr Xi needs to start changing the system. One photo posted online in support of the striking journalists showed a dozen men and women holding posters that read: “Four dishes and a soup is not real reform. Press freedom is real reform.”
习清楚的明白民心所向，特别是关于腐败和官员奢侈浪费的问题。当他在全国范围内视察是，尽量避免以往的奢华宴会。“四菜一汤”已成为媒体对他更为节俭和开放态度的简称。习近平需要着手改革制度。网上流传一张支持罢工记者的照片，很多人举着海报，上面写道：“四菜一汤不是真正的改革，新闻自由才是王道。”
Correction: The original version of this leader wrongly stated that the “four dishes and soup” slogan was seen on a banner in Guangzhou this week, rather than in a photo posted online. This was corrected on January 11th. We apologise for the error.
纠正：我们之前错误报道习的“四菜一汤”原版本来自本周广州标语，而是网上流传的照片。该错误已于1月11号纠正，我们对此表示歉意。