Chinese labor camps were created in the 1950s by the Kuomintang as a way to obtain free labor from Chinese civilians. When civilians were sent to prison, some remained in prison and others went to labor camps. Prisoners were sent to labor camps as a way to reform themselves through a system they called “reeducation through labor.” In the 1950s, prisoners were sent to Chinese labor camps to gain “re-education through labor” and hopefully emerge from the system as better, more productive members of society; but after learning the Laogai system more thoroughly, they did not become better and more productive members of society. There were approximately 350 Chinese labor camps. The Kuomintang would condemn Chinese civilians who committed minor crimes and could be reformed to become a better person for society. The camps in which the prisoners had to live were very unsanitary. Diseases spread like wildfire and their diet was horrendous. Although no one spoke out and tried to stop the labor camps, the Laogai system violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Starting in the 1950s, the Chinese Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, established a system called the Lagoai system, meaning “re-education through labor,” also known as Chinese labor camps. Their system was a way to reform a prisoner to become a better, more productive member of society and to get the job done for little or no pay. Another group that contributed to the creation of the labor camps was the Kuomintang. Mao wants this system created to gain internal political control, free labor, and to eliminate... the middle of the paper... Mao Zedong in 1955, although the first camp did not open until 1956. In 2013, China abolished labor camps and ended the Laogai system. The labor camps have clearly violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, going against people's human rights and sending them to labor camps without any trial. With all the mental illnesses that are present due to severe cases such as labor camps, the Laogai system has not helped prisoners return to “normality”. If nothing else, all labor camps left their mark on prisoners forever. Civilians in Chinese labor camps were deprived of their freedom and were terrified for their lives after leaving the labor camps. Therefore, prisoners did not emerge from the Laogai system as better and more productive members of society.