Resources for Teachers and Students on Harry Wu
Prepare: "Laogai" is the term
for a Chinese prison camp. Harry Wu, having spent nineteen
years in various laogai, has established the Laogai Research
Foundation, the home page of which can be found here.
The purpose of the foundation is to gather information and
increase public awareness of the laogai system. Spend some
time surfing the foundation's website to familiarize yourself
with Harry Wu's ongoing project.
Read:
"The Other Gulag: China's Forgotten Prison Empire,"
by Harry Wu, excerpted from the National Review.
Explore: Using the internet and library
resources, and mostly concentrating on current news articles
(avoid BLOGS!), attempt to find data regarding the following
questions:
- "What international conventions and treaties exist
today to regulate torture and abuse within a country's
internal prison system?
- "What organizations, other than the Laogai Research
Foundation, exist to monitor human rights abuses within
prison systems internationally? Do their reports substantiate
the claims made by the Laogai Research Foundation?
- "Other than for torture, what other ethical issues
are of concern in terms of the Laogai system of prison
camps?
Write: Compose a three-to-five page paper
either supporting or refuting the following statement from
"The Other Gulag: China's Forgotten Prison Empire":
"Incredibly, Western scholars make casual comparisons
of their own prisons to the Chinese. But if they bothered
to learn the least thing about the Laogai, they would never
utter such comparisons, which are not only ignorant but
insulting."
Extend: There is an ongoing debate as to
whether China, because of it's continued practice of incarcerating
dissidents and other political prisoners, should be extended
the privilege of full participation in international events.
For example, should China be allowed to host the Olympic
games? Some argue that such inclusion moves China forward
in terms of a gradual acceptance of international standards,
while others argue that such inclusion fails to force China
to improve its human rights record. Hold a formal debate
on this issue in class, making certain that all possible
perspectives on the question are included.
Biography of Harry
Wu