ABSTRACT
In Qing times when a prisoner completed his sentence (or in rare cases won release through hard work and good behavior), he was usually required to remain in the northwest. 318 This practice has some parallel in recent decades. During the Mao years, when prisoners were "released" they often had to stay in the vicinity of the prison. Occasionally, however, they were actually kept in prison after the expiration of their terms. A
Jiuye As we noted earlier, when a convict is sent to the northwest, his hukou (residence permit) back home has normally been canceled.319 Therefore, upon eventual release, the person has had no automatic right to return home. Until the 1980s a majority of released prisoners continued to live and work in the neighborhood of their former prison. In Qinghai, this was true for about three-fifths of released prisoners. The phenomenon is calledjiuye, which normally means "take employment." However, when used in reference to China's former prisoners, the term is short for liuchang jiuye. This, in turn, is a shortened version of the old term xingman shifan qiangzhixing liu chang jiuye, meaning "postrelease compulsory retained workers." Underjiuye, millions ofreleased prisoners used to be given local hukous. Under this regime (not entirely without parallel in Western countries320), former prisoners are given local jobs. In China, jiuye pay has traditionally been very low (with no pay in the case of those who had been deprived of political rights).
