stuck in time

i had no idea china still enforces re-education as a method of punishment. the new york times published an article today about two women in their 70s, who had been requesting a permit to hold a demonstration because of the little compensation they were given for beijing to tear down their houses for the olympics. the chinese government not only rejected their request but sentenced them to re-education.

i thought re-education was something that occurred just during the cultural revolution era, a punishment popular for the intellectuals and the elite. the idea was to "re-educate" them about the virtues of the proletarian life. they were sent to farms for years where they labored in agricultural work, under the supervision of farmers.

the notion that the government is sending two women, in their 70s, to be re-educated, which could entails laborious work and forced confessions, is cruel. it's frightening that china is becoming/has become a superpower, and things like this happen. i guess it's similar to the u.s. government that still allows trying juveniles as adults and sentencing the mentally disabled to death sentences. hm.