New York ( CNN ) -- Did the Chinese government announce earlier this week that it would end its notorious detention system known as Re-Education Through Labor ( RTL ) ? On January 7 , Meng Jianzhu , the head of the powerful Political and Legal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party , reportedly announced that the government would `` stop using '' the system , in which roughly 160,000 people are detained for up to four years without trial for `` crimes that are not severe enough to warrant a criminal sentence , '' by the end of 2013 . After media outlets confirmed the news with officials who attended the meeting Meng spoke at , the original articles reporting the decision vanished from the Internet . A subsequent Xinhua news story watered down Meng 's statement , committing the government only to `` advancing reforms '' of RTL -- which is old news -- a long-stated but never-implemented goal . This episode highlights three realities of China 's human rights situation : 1 ) the news is often not what it initially appears to be , especially if a key government decision is at stake ; 2 ) the new leadership is struggling to reply adequately to growing popular demand for reform ; and 3 ) changes to RTL , like other long-mooted reforms , might only be a cosmetic gesture , leaving intact laws and practices that violate domestic and international human rights standards . China 's new leaders have come to power during a serious legitimacy crisis , with a nation eager for political reforms . Indeed , party chief Xi Jinping has repeatedly vowed to `` deepen reform . '' At the same time , there has been rising public discontent over local officials ' abuse of RTL to muzzle ordinary people seeking justice or criticizing the government . The system was further discredited by the recent detentions of Tang Hui , a mother seeking redress for the rape of her young daughter , and Ren Jianyu , a village official who posted negative comments online about the government . Meanwhile , the main obstacle to abolishing RTL , the Ministry of Public Security , which holds the unchecked power to detain individuals in these facilities , has seen its political clout diminished under the new leadership arrangement . The time for abolition of RTL appears ripe , but it 's unclear whether Xi is ready to move from talking about reforms to delivering them . As a type of arbitrary detention , RTL should not be reformed : it should be abolished outright . The tepid Xinhua announcement promising to `` reform '' RTL suggests that instead of abolition , the government will merely tinker at the margins of the existing system . Fears this might be the case derive from the August 2012 announcement of a pilot scheme in four cities . Few details are available , except that the name of the system was revised from Re-education to `` Education and Correction , '' and minor constraints on the police 's ability to impose these punishments were established . The debate in and outside of China this week echoes the 2003 debate about the abolition of `` Custody and Repatriation . '' This system of administrative detention was designed to detain individuals found outside of their official location of residence ( hukou ) . It was similarly discredited and abolished after a series of abuses , the last straw being the beating and death of a young man in a Custody and Repatriation center in Guangzhou in March 2003 . The decision to get rid of the system was made at the beginning of the then-new leadership of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao , and was perceived as a signal of reform . Yet the failure to match the end of Custody and Repatriation with a wholesale prohibition on arbitrary detention mitigated the benefits of its abolition . Migrant workers who had been prey for the system benefited from its abolition , but local governments soon found new ways to deal with the other category of people detained in Custody and Repatriation centers -- petitioners . Illegal and ad hoc `` black jails '' were set up to prevent them from trying to reach higher authorities to denounce local official misconduct . The central government tolerates the existence of these patently unlawful black jails , demonstrating that it continues to lack commitment to ending arbitrary detention . Swapping one system of arbitrary detention for another would be a missed opportunity for the new leadership . Real change requires that the government abolish RTL , and establish in its place a new system to punish minor crimes that is consistent with the Chinese Constitution as well as its international human rights obligations , and pass the necessary legislation during the next National People 's Congress in March . The judiciary -- not the police -- should be responsible for considering charges , determining guilt , and assigning appropriate punishment . People who are accused must have the ability to confront and question their accusers , the right to counsel , and all fair trial guarantees . Anything short of this will not quench the public 's thirst for the `` deepening reform . '' The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Maya Wang .
Chinese media recently reported infamous ' Re ##sponsible Education Through Labor ' system would be abolished . China : Roughly 160,000 people are detained in China for up to four years without trial . Maya Wang : Like other long - mooted reforms , this might only be a cosmetic gesture . As a type of arbitrary detention , RTL should not be reformed , it should be abolished , she says .