Woman, icon of movement against China's labor camps, wins appeal for damages

BEIJING – A woman who became a symbol for the groundswell of opposition to China's labor camp system has won an appeal for compensation in a case that generated huge public outcry.

The Hunan provincial high court Monday ruled in favor of Tang Hui, who last year was sentenced to 18 months in a labor camp for petitioning for harsher penalties for the men who raped and prostituted her 11-year-old daughter.

Tang's case drew massive public opposition and she was released within days.

She appealed to the Hunan high court after the rejection of her lawsuit against the labor commission of the city of Yongzhou. She had sought an apology and compensation.

The provincial court ordered the labor commission to pay Tang 2,941 yuan ($500).