Idleness -- which leads to boredom, tensions, and violence -- is the bane of the prison environment. In Hong Kong, unlike in many countries, most prisoners are kept occupied. Convicted prisoners work; juvenile prisoners are given education and vocational training; only remand prisoners have little to do. The emphasis on work, education, and training in the Hong Kong correctional system evidences the happy fact that rehabilitation is still regarded as one of the goals of imprisonment.

All convicted prisoners in Hong Kong are obliged to work unless they are excused for medical or other good reasons.(125) Unconvicted prisoners do not work. Under the Prison Rules, they are supposed to have the option of working,(126) but -- largely because overcrowding has stretched the system's resources -- this option exists on paper only.

Prison labor is employed through the Correctional Services Industries (CSI), which, according to the CSD, produced HK $431 million worth of goods and services in 1996, an increase of HK $33 million over the previous year.(127) CSI operates nearly 150 industrial workshops in the prisons. As the CSD explains:

The industries cover a wide range of trades, including laundry, garment making, silk screening, carpentry, fibreglass, precast concrete, metal work, knitting, shoe making and leather work, envelope making, printing and book-binding. Apart from industrial production, inmates are employed for general domestic services, construction and maintenance work as well as community environmental improvement work.(128)

However, some goods made in the prisons, the Human Rights Watch/Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor delegation found, are the product of such simple and rote labor that mastering their production can be hardly be deemed a "trade." The most glaring example of this, which the delegation saw in several prisons, was cotton-ball making: inmates sitting at tables covered with piles of cotton, twirling them into little balls.

As the cotton balls exemplify, not all prison labor equips inmates with meaningful skills, even if it does have the benefit of keeping them busy while incarcerated. Moreover, even with those tasks that might be considered as a possible vocation, such as garment making, the Human Rights Watch/Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor delegation noticed that overcrowding has to some extent overwhelmed the workshops, with one result being that there may be two or three inmates assigned to a machine for which only one is needed.

The final benefit to prisoners of being employed while incarcerated is, of course, the possibility of earning money. In accordance with international standards, the Hong Kong prison authorities pay inmates for their labor.(129) The pay offered is minimal, however, though it varies a great deal depending upon the work involved and the inmate's experience.(130) Out of the salary received, inmates must save a mandatory 10 percent; the rest can be spent on canteen items.

All young offenders, with the exception of those held at the Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre and the Sha Tsui Detention Centre, receive a half-day of education per day.(131) Particularly useful educational offerings, such as computer training, are provided to training center inmates, who receive a half-day of vocational training in addition to the half-day of education. The Human Rights Watch/Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor delegation visited several classes at the juvenile facilities it inspected, finding that class sizes were reasonable and class facilities were well maintained. Several teachers, however, informed the delegation that because of insufficient numbers of custodial staff to post in the classrooms, security was often quite lax and violent outbursts occasionally occurred.(132) They described a January 1997 incident at Pik Uk as a case in point: eight Vietnamese prisoners fought in a classroom, using tables and chairs as weapons, and one sustained injuries serious enough to require a hospital visit. Since teachers working in the prisons lack the security training provided to correctional officers, they feel ill-equipped to deal with such dangers.

Despite these problems, the emphasis placed on educating inmates under twenty-one is to be commended. In contrast to the emphasis placed on juvenile education, adult education gets fairly short shrift. Classes are given to adult prisoners in the evenings on a voluntary basis.

Almost all of the facilities visited by the Human Rights Watch/Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor delegation had ample, well-stocked libraries. The two libraries at Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre, however, had just a few cabinets of books; the CSD might want to consider expanding it.

The exception to the general rule of inmate activity is the situation of unsentenced, or remand prisoners. At Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre, Tai Lam Centre for Women, and Pik Uk Correctional Institution, the Human Rights Watch/Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor delegation found that unsentenced prisoners have little or nothing to do besides sit and watch television, play board games, or read the newspaper.(133) Women at Tai Lam, in fact, were assigned to tables and required to sit at them all day, only getting up for meals, exercise, and when they had permission to use the bathroom. This level of discipline seems unjustifiably high for prisoners who are, after all, presumed innocent.

The CSD employs two full-time chaplains who are responsible for coordinating the activities of all faiths within the prison. All other religious work in the prisons is done on a volunteer basis.

The Human Rights Watch/Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor delegation heard no allegations of a lack of religious freedom in the prisons. Chaplains stated that the CSD is extremely cooperative and in no way interferes with their work with prisoners.(134) Further accommodation of prisoners' religious beliefs is evidenced in the Prison Rules, which make special provision for the requirements of different religions, including Islam and Judaism.(135)

Still, given that the vast majority of the prison population consists of ethnic Chinese, many of whom may well ascribe to the Buddhist, Taoist or Confucian tradition, there is a marked lack of traditional Chinese religious activity in the prisons. The two official chaplains are Christian, as are many of the volunteers. In only one prison did the Human Rights Watch/Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor delegation see that prisoners are allowed to make small Chinese shrines, which are otherwise so commonly found in the streets, shops, and homes of Hong Kong.

CSD policy, in accordance with the Standard Minimum Rules, is that prisoners receive at least one hour of outdoor exercise per day. Because of the strains caused by overcrowding, we heard that this hour has been somewhat eroded at certain facilities, verging on forty minutes.