Turning minuses into pluses and changing criminals into people who are useful to society are in conformity with the great Marxist ideal of liberating all of mankind. Therefore, even in the case of criminals who have committed serious offenses, China has always adhered to its laws and policies, which call for a minimum number of executions. In the actual practice of criminal reform, China pays close attention to implementing the principles of humanitarianism. Criminals are not only provided with proper living conditions, but their human dignity is also respected. Humiliating of prisoners is forbidden.
China strictly protects the due rights of criminals.
Chinese law stipulates the various civil rights not restricted by law to which a criminal is entitled during a prison term. There are specific legal provisions concerning the rights a criminal must enjoy during the entire process from initial detention to release after serving the sentence. Chinese law forbids any maltreatment of prisoners by the prison staff and prisoners have the right to file charges according to the law. The law clearly stipulates criminal sanctions for any prison staff guilty of dereliction of duty. In the reform of criminals, China operates on the principle that education is very important, attaching great importance to physical labour in addition to legal, moral, cultural and technical education to encourage criminals to stop looking at time in prison as a forced prison term and think more in terms of conscientious reform, to give up the idea of obtaining personal gain through criminal means, to form the habit of respecting other people and society in general, and to obtain the work skills needed for later employment so that they may become law-abiding citizens.