Henan officials must be held to account for their 'reprimand centres'

Recent reports revealed that several city and county governments in Henan province had established so-called "reprimand centres" to detain petitioners.

Following a public outcry, Henan's provincial authorities promised to carry out a thorough investigation and close the illegal centres.

The centres were criticised for their revival of the controversial "re-education through labour" system, which the National People's Congress Standing Committee formally abolished in December, a move widely hailed as a milestone in China's legal process. And indeed, on the surface, the centres - reportedly responsible for "24-hour non-stop reprimand, warning, persuasion and education" - appeared to be a new form of camp.

However, while the system did have a legal foundation, albeit weak, in various national administrative laws, the reprimand centres were established through a joint decision by government departments in Henan.

How could these provincial departments have the power to enact a regulation to deprive people of their freedom? In essence, these centres were just a euphemism for China's notorious "black jails".

In 2010, Chinese media exposed a Beijing-based private security company, Anyuanding, which had contracts with local governments and earned handsome sums for helping them "maintain stability". The company's role was to intercept petitioners travelling from their hometowns to Beijing to lodge complaints with the central authorities. The abducted petitioners were usually detained in abandoned guesthouses, dank basements or rural compounds.

Following the exposure, the Beijing police's initial response was not to investigate the company but to intimidate journalists who had disclosed the scandal.