About the Archives
The Laogai Archives are located in the offices of the Laogai Research Foundation and are scheduled to open to the public in mid-2009. The purpose of the Laogai Archives is to collect, preserve, and make available for research documents, photographs, video, and other artifacts related to Chinese human rights issues, with a particular emphasis on the Laogai. The Laogai Archives play a vital role in supporting the efforts of the Laogai Research Foundation and Laogai Museum to document and publicize human rights abuses in China. Due to the suppression of free speech within China, much of the material housed within the Laogai Archives is unavailable to researchers in mainland China. Thus, the Laogai Archives are in a unique position to support academics, journalists, students, and activists in freely conducting research on human rights in China.
The archives are a rich resource for researchers that include:
- numerous Chinese government documents, including internal and classified documents
- the personal testimonies of Laogai survivors
- thousands of photographs
- hundreds of hours of video
- volumes of original research conducted by LRF staff
- post-1949 artifacts such as prisoner uniforms and Laogai products
Donate Items
If you or anyone you know would like to donate documents, photographs, personal testimony, or any other materials relating to the Laogai or human rights in China to the Laogai Archives, please email us at laogai@laogai.org, or call us at 202-408-8300. We have staff members who are fluent in both English and Chinese, and we will cover any shipping expenses should we decide to accept your items. All donations from U.S. residents to the Laogai Archives are tax-deductible.
Access to Archives
As we transition to our new website, you can still access information from our old site (PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK)
Some of the material within the Laogai Archives can be accessed online.