Renowned Chinese dissident, Harry Wu, has opened the Laogai Museum in Washington, DC, which is the first of its kind within the U.S. to directly address human rights topics in China. Its focus will be the Laogai -- the most extensive system of forced labor camps in the world.

In 1960, at age 23, Wu was sentenced to life in the Laogai for criticizing the Communist Party and its support for the Soviet invasion of Hungary. Wu labored for 19 years in 12 different prison camps until finally being released in 1979, following Mao's death and Deng Xiaoping's rise to power. With only $40 in his pocket, Wu immigrated to the U.S. in 1985 and established the Laogai Research Foundation in 1992. He subsequently made several trips back to China where he worked undercover to document the Laogai. He also investigated the export of Laogai products to the U.S. (it is illegal to import forced-labor products under U.S. trade law) and the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners. As a result, Wu was deemed one of China's top public enemies. Upon returning to China in 1995, he was arrested at the border and later sentenced to 15 years in prison for "stealing state secrets," but was released after 66 days in detention due to international outcry and intense pressure from many U.S. political figures.

The Laogai Museum, located at 1109 M St. NW, was created with the support of the recently-established Yahoo! Human Rights Fund. The Fund was established in conjunction with the Laogai Research Foundation to provide humanitarian and legal support to political dissidents who have been imprisoned for expressing their views online, as well as support for their families. A portion of the fund will also be used to support the Laogai Research Foundation's educational work to advance human rights.