Inmates working in prison should be paid: white paper

Inmates are required to work in China's prisons and get paid as the country is striving to build a just, clean, civilized and efficient prison system, a white paper said Tuesday.

Every week, inmates work for five days, receive classroom education for one day and rest for one day, said the white paper on judicial reform in China, issued by the State Council Information Office.

It said China is realizing its reform objective of "full-sum guarantee, separation of administrative and business functions, separation of revenues and expenditures, and standardized operation" of prisons.

The expenses for jail administration, criminal reformation, prisoners' cost of living, and jail facilities are all guaranteed by the government budget, said the white paper.

Attempts are made to strengthen moral, cultural, and technical education to inmates and give them vocational training so as to enhance their ability to make a living after being released, said the white paper.

Since 2008, a total of 1.26 million inmates have completed literacy and other compulsory education courses while serving their sentences, and over 5,800 people have acquired college diplomas recognized by the state, it said.

Over 30,000 skill-training courses of various kinds have so far been conducted by prisons across the country, and over 75 percent of inmate trainees have received related certificates, made about 14,000 technological innovations and obtained over 500 invention patents, said the white paper.