 The United States Department of State called the conditions in prisons " harsh and frequently degrading , " and said the conditions in re @-@ education through labor facilities were similar , citing overcrowded living spaces , low @-@ quality food , and poor or absent medical care . Detainees in camps are required to work for little or no pay ; while Chinese law requires that prison laborers ' workday be limited to 12 hours a day , The United States Department of State and the Laogai Research Foundation have speculated that re @-@ education through labor detainees are forced to work longer . In 2001 , sociologist Dean Rojek estimated that detainees generally worked six days a week , " in total silence . " Much of the labor done by re @-@ education through labor detainees is geared towards agriculture or producing goods , many of which are sold internationally , since re @-@ education through labor detainees are not counted as official " prisoners " and therefore not subject to international treaties . They also perform work ranging " from tending vegetables and emptying septic pits to cutting stone blocks and construction work . " 
