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| Meghan Waters |
By Meghan Waters
Class of 2014
On January 23, the University of Louisville had the honor of hosting Mr. Harry Wu, a Chinese dissident who spent 19 years in a labor camp system known as the “laogai.” A political prisoner of the Chinese Communist party, Mr. Wu suffered extensive abuse, nearly dying from beatings, torture, and starvation. Now a free man living in the Land of the Free, Mr. Wu has dedicated his life to exposing the horrors of the Laogai System and educating the world about the serious human rights issues in China.
Prior to attending Mr. Wu’s lecture, I was unaware of the Laogai System. I’m not alone: only 22 percent of the world’s population is familiar with the Laogai System; even some Chinese citizens are ignorant of it. The Chinese term “laogai” means “reform through labor.” As Mr. Wu explained, the Laogai System serves primarily to brainwash the political enemies of the Communist party. He was labeled a “counterrevolutionary,” an obstacle to the ascent of Communism in China, and suffered extensively as a result of his beliefs. As an American citizen and a firm believer in the First Amendment, this idea is difficult for me to fathom. It often seems that our society (particularly the media) thrives on criticizing the government. It’s hard to imagine a society where free speech and free thought is simply not tolerated nor encouraged.
In addition to brainwashing its prisoners, the Laogai System has a second goal: production. The labor camps essentially function like factories with substandard working conditions. Each prisoner must meet a quota or face cruel punishment. This punishment could come in the form of beatings, withholding of food, or other forms of brutality. What’s truly sickening is that many items produced in these labor camps are shipped to the United States and other countries around the world. Sadly, the benefit of cheap prices outweighs the cost of human rights abuses.
Listening to Mr. Wu speak was an incredible opportunity for me and my fellow McConnell Scholars. His lecture was both eye-opening and shocking. I think that living in the United States sometimes gives us a false sense of reality. This kind of brutality is unimaginable in the United States, so we incorrectly assume that other countries also find such things abhorrent. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and human rights abuses happen all around the world. We just happen to be lucky enough to live in a society mostly free from such atrocities.
In an effort to document the horrors of the Laogai System, Mr. Wu has established the Laogai Research Foundation in California, as well as the Laogai Museum in Washington, D.C. He has returned to China several times to collect evidence of the human rights abuses taking place in the Laogai camps. Mr. Wu is currently unable to return to China because of threats of imprisonment.
Harry Wu claims that he is not a hero, but I have met very few people who embody such incredible courage and character.
Meghan Waters, of California, Ky., is a junior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. She is studying political science, justice administration and classical languages.