Beginning date: April 1, 2020;

Deadline: June 30, 2020

Award announcement: July 30, 2020

I. Program Outline:

This Grant is anon-annual, flexible program from the Laogai Research Foundation (LRF) based on available budget and other factors. It is characterized by small and short-term funding to promote and support individual’s research project focusing o human rights abuse in the following areas:

• Examining the Laogai system and its origin, background, expansion, and consequences;
• Exposing the historical facts and consequences of China’s political campaigns between the 1950s and 1960s, which served as the breeding ground for the Laogai regulation and institution;
• Uncovering new, detailed information about Laogai camp and regulation expansion in minority nationality areas;
• Revealing and analyzing any other form of repression of political dissenters or “thought criminals”by the Chinese Communist Party and the government of the People’s Republic of China.

The format of the research project can be varied,including academic books, personal memoirs, research articles, film, translation, symposium, and publication subsidy.The language of the application and the research project can be either in English or in Chinese.

This grant does not support the multi-year project,and the completion period of the applied project is generally a one-year term.   In the case of any formal publication, the applicant needs to provide a formal publication contract.

This Grant will mainly support applicants living in the United States and other democratic counties/regions, including Taiwan and Hong Kong. Due to the safety concerns for applicants, LRF will not accept any application from individuals who are currently living in mainland China.

II. Review Process:

A grant review panel including the board directors of the Laogai Research Foundation, the Laogai Human Rights Organization, and some invited experts in the field will review all the applications after the application deadline of June 30, 2020. The award letter will be sent out around July 30, 2020.

The amount of awarded grants depends on the budget, the scale, and scope of the topic(s) of the project. The average awarded funding this time may vary between $3000-$5,000.

III. Submission Guidelines:

Please apply electronically by emailing the following to thelaogairesearchfoundation@gmail.com

• Application form (Download here)
• Proof of the applicant’s legal status (copy of passport or other ID)
• Applicant’s Resume
• Project Narrative(in the word file)
• Budget plan of requested LRF funding
• 1-3 recommendation letters
• Any related supporting materials such as publishing contracts.

 IV. LRF Acknowledgment:

An awarded individual needs to include a line of acknowledgment under his/her research project as such: “This project was supported in whole (or in part) by the Laogai Research Foundation.”

V. Contact info:

Laogai Research Foundation

Email address: thelaogairesearchfoundation@gmail.com