America and China. The world’s two fastest-growing superpowers.
First and third in population. Two of the most powerful militaries in the world.
As they jockey for influence around the world, they frequently wind up on opposite sides. But
they have one thing in common - they have two of the largest prison systems in the world. If
you commit a serious crime while in either of their borders, you’re going to have a bad time.
But what is prison like in China compared to the United States?
The two have many similarities, but in other areas you might as well be on another planet.
If you had to wind up in prison in one of the world’s two biggest powers,
which one is your best bet to see the other side of those gates again?
We’ll start by looking at their prison populations. The United States has the largest
prison population in the world, and the highest per-capita incarceration rate of any nation.
They have a whopping 698 people locked up per 100,000, and in total over 2.2 million Americans
are locked up. That’s a lot of prisons across the country, and they have another 4.7 million
people on probation or on parole, meaning they either did some time in prison or could
go there for a probation violation. That’s a total of almost seven million people under the
authority of criminal corrections - just under three percent of the United States population.
China is the most populated country in the world, with over 1.4 billion people - about
20% of everyone on the planet! So you’d think they’d easily outstrip the United
States in raw population in prison? Wrong! China only has 1.65 million people in prison,
for a population rate of 118 per 100,000. But this is split between the Ministry of Public Security
and the Ministry of Justice, and information on Chinese prison populations is spotty. This prison
population only covers those who went through the criminal justice system and were convicted of a
crime, not those detained by the state security apparatus. It also doesn’t count the million or
so Uighur muslims imprisoned by China in state re-education camps. In truth, China’s real prison
population is impossible to guess, and the Chinese Communist Party likes it that way.
But what crimes are most likely to get you sent to prison in these countries?
In the United States, it’s like night and day when you look at state and federal prisons. Under 10%
of federal prisoners are incarcerated for violent crimes, while most prisoners are incarcerated
for financial crimes like tax fraud or organized crime, or federal drug crimes. In state prisons,
over 50% of all inmates are doing time for violent offenses like armed robbery, assault, or murder,
while 16% are there for drug crimes. This doesn’t necessarily mean the violent criminals are doing
more time, though - mandatory sentences can result in life sentences for even non-violent crimes.
China has two kinds of inmates in its prisons. Judicial detainees are those charged and convicted
of serious crimes, with theft and fraud being the most common charges. There are over two million
charges for these crimes per year, compared to less than 200,000 charges for violent crimes.
But administrative detention is also common, and this is where the state security apparatus
deems you to be a public danger. This generally results in a shorter sentence,
and includes addicts being sentenced to imprisonment so they can be sent to
rehabilitation - whether they want it or not. And of course, anyone declared an enemy of the
state can very quickly become a political prisoner in the Chinese Communist Party’s justice system.
What is likely to happen to you if you’re charged with a crime in the United States or China?
In America, that depends heavily on what you’re charged with - and how much
money you have. When you’re arrested and charged, the prosecutor and your
lawyer will make their cases for how much freedom you’re given while awaiting trial.
You might be released on your own recognizance for a more minor crime, or given the opportunity
to post bail - a financial payment to the court that’s refunded once you return for trial. If
you’re accused of a serious crime and deemed to be a danger or flight risk, though, the judge
might order you held in jail until trial - which can last a year or more in busy jurisdictions.
In China, there is much less uncertainty about your fate when accused of a crime - virtually
all Chinese accused are held in detention until their trial. You’ll be arrested at
the start of the investigation, and be held while the police work to prove your guilt.
The local courts issue a detention order, and you’ll be held in one of the facilities
managed by the public security departments. And don’t think you’ll be able to catch some
naps while waiting for your day in court - pre-trial detention in China means you can
expect frequent rough interrogations where they try to get a confession out of you.
So you’ve been convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison. What’s your new home going to be like?
In the United States, it depends on what you’ve been convicted of and how long your
stay is going to be. If you’re serving less than a year, you might wind up in
county corrections - the same place you likely spent your pre-trial detention. But if you’re
serving a longer sentence, you’re headed for a state prison where conditions are
typically stricter and the security is much more intense. For the most dangerous criminals - both
state and federal - Supermax prisons are waiting, where inmates typically spend
almost twenty-three hours a day in their cells and are strictly segregated from each other.
In China, the focus of incarceration is different. While they do have standard prisons - including
the notorious Qincheng maximum security prison that was built with help from the Soviet Union and
holds many political prisoners - Chinese prisons often take the form of labor camps or farms.
That means prisoners may be sent far away from home, to work in notorious prison labor camps.
So the location of your prison may be determined less by where you committed your crime
and more by where the government wants you - in a rural area or near a center of industry.
You’ve got a long stay ahead of you. How’s the food?
In the United States, you’ll find variety isn’t a problem for food - as long as you’re nostalgic for
those middle school cafeteria lunches. Some prisons have communal eating for lower-risk
prisoners, while other inmates in high-security prisons eat in their cells. You can expect a
lot of sandwiches and things that resemble TV dinners, but the truth doesn’t always live up
to the advertising. Many prisons have their food provided by private contractors, and
the quality has decreased. Inmates often complain of expired, spoiled, or chemically-treated food.
This can cause outbreaks of illness, and pest infestations have been reported.
The only escape most inmates have from the dreary lunch offerings is the prison commissary. If you
earn money from working around the prison or have someone on the outside willing to send you money,
you can buy your favorite snacks from the outside to eat in your cell.
It’s a very different story in China. English-language information on Chinese
prison food is spotty, but several Americans who spent time in Chinese prisons have given
reports - and it’s not pretty. Prisoners are often given just enough food to give them the
energy to keep working, and it’s usually a meal centered around rice - often with some turnips
and a little pork fat on top. And don’t think about complaining - it’s common for food rations
to be cut as punishment in Chinese prisons, which brings inmates back into line quickly.
You’re going to have to keep busy somehow. What kind of recreation is allowed?
American prisons often provide extensive recreation options for their inmates.
It’s common for inmates to have access to a library, limited computer privileges,
and a rec room where they can watch some TV. Outside, inmates can lift weights or play ball
games. It’s almost like gym class - except for the armed guards. Some Inmates can take
college classes, although this is rare due to the programs being significantly underfunded,
and some long-time inmates have become jailhouse lawyers. This doesn’t apply to supermax prisons,
of course, where the options are a lot more limited to whatever you can do in your cell.
If you’re in a Chinese prison, don’t expect to have much time to think about recreation. You’ll
be kept busy with cell inspections, marches, and prison jobs. The goal of Chinese prisons
is to instill order, and the day is run with military precision. It’s common for inmates to
begin their days with chores, followed by chanting communist slogans and repeating the rules of the
prison. Then it’s on to military-style marching in place. It’s like a very different gym class.
Some inmates may get access to reading material, but one thing both countries have in common is
that it’s likely any reading material could be censored and have to be approved by prison
authorities- although for completely different reasons. In the US anything deemed to be violent
or sexual will likely be prohibited for inmates. In China anything that the government doesn’t like
or want you to know about gets censored- and that can include a lot of things. .
Uh-oh, looks like you stepped out of line. What can you expect?
Punishments in prison aren’t part of the judicial system, but are administered by
the Warden and guard. The most common punishment is solitary confinement - also known as the hole.
When you get sent to solitary, all privileges are taken away
and you’re isolated from all other inmates. Long-term solitary confinement can have a
devastating mental-health impact that lasts long after a person is released - from solitary,
and from prison. Prison food can also be used as a punishment - you won’t starve,
but many prisons have punishment meals including the notorious nutriloaf - where all the essential
components of a healthy diet are blended and baked into a single dense food item
that prisoners eat with their hands. Yum. While those on-the-book prisons are feared by prisoners,
the bigger fear may be prisoner abuse. Many guards violate the prison policies
and deal out their own beatings to prisoners who they feel disrespect from or who break the rules,
and it’s hard for an inmate to report a guard without opening themselves up to retaliation.
This applies to the 20% of inmates who report sexual abuse as well.
Chinese prisons prize order above all, and the slightest deviations from the norm are
dealt with harshly. The mildest punishment is the withholding of daily cigarettes - a
rare privilege in the prison - but guards are allowed to deal out much
harsher measures. A slight slowdown or dirty look can get you punched or kicked by a guard,
and inmates who really raise the ire of the authorities can find themselves on punishment
detail or with reduced food rations - a serious threat, given the meager food. The worst common
punishment in Chinese prisons? Being shackled to the wall, often for days to weeks at a time.
You’re going to need to earn your keep. What’s the working life like in these two prison systems?
In the United States, prison labor is common and inmates often find themselves working for
the state. This used to be called a chain gang, but it’s rarer to see restrained inmates working
at the side of the road these days. Inmates are still used commonly to pick up trash,
but it’s more common for third-party companies to hire them. The company will contract with
the state, and inmates will be put to work in jobs like manufacturing or phone-banking.
Most inmates do get paid for their prison labor time, but they get paid a much lower rate than
the minimum wage - often less than a dollar an hour - which has led to criticism of the policy,
with many calling it latter-day slavery. The US’ large prison population has led
the US prison system to be the third largest employer in the United States.
Prison labor is widespread in the United States, but it’s part of the design of the system
in China. Ever since the founding of the Chinese Communist party, their criminal justice system
has been governed by Laogai - a system using penal labor and prison farms to reeducate their inmates.
Originally this was so extensive as to include anyone who committed minor offenses,
but that was abolished. China keeps information on its prison system close to its chest and
journalists have been expelled from the country for publishing it, but there are
estimated to be over 500,000 people detained on prison farms and labor camps around China.
But what fate awaits the worst convicted criminals in the system?
Both China and the United States have the death penalty, but the two systems are very different.
The United States has the death penalty in twenty-eight states plus the federal system,
and currently has over 2,600 people on death row. It’s not easy to get sentenced to death
in the United States, and almost all inmates are murderers or convicted of serious federal crimes
like treason. Once sentenced to death, it’s rare for an inmate to be executed quickly - they’re
entitled to years of appeals, going all the way up to the Supreme Court before they
meet the executioner. The most common methods of execution are lethal injection and electric chair.
China has fewer prisoners than the United States - but a lot of them don’t stay for long.
China’s use of the death penalty is a state secret, but it’s believed that they used to
execute up to 12,000 people each year. The current estimate is about 2,400 a year.
It’s common for judges to dole out a death sentence and then reprieve the inmate,
as a warning of how close they came to death. But for those who are sentenced to death? The
execution comes quickly when approved by the Supreme People’s Court. Execution is done by
lethal injection or firing squad, and is mostly carried out for murder and drug trafficking.
Could you survive either of these prison systems?
For more on the harshest prisons in the world, check out “Prison Where
Inmates Live in Coffins”. Or watch “50 Insane Facts About Prison You Wouldn’t Believe”
for more on what the system has waiting for you.