中國的監獄通常被看作秘密機構，而美國的監獄則被視為全世界最先進的懲教系統之一。本文試圖從比較的角度分析中美兩國的監獄在組織構成、服刑犯特徵、懲教官員選拔、刑罰理念及懲教策略各方面的區別。我們可以看到仍處於發展階段的中國監獄，既對囚犯實施嚴苛的強制勞動，又缺少法治意義上的程式性保護，類似Foucault（1977）所描述的十九世紀的西方監獄。然而，美國也可以從中國監獄系統的一些特點中得到啟示。在儒家學說和社會主義學說的影響之下，中國的監獄強調犯人的可塑性、教育改造、專業化懲教人員，以及國家信念，上述各項對於當代的監獄改革都有正面的意義。

Prison in this Era: A Cross-Cultural Comparison between the United States and the People’s Republic of China

The prison system in the People’s Republic of China is often regarded as a hidden institution, while that of the United States is considered one of the most advanced correction systems in the world. This paper analyses the prison systems of these two omparative and historical perspective, in terms of their organization, the characteristics of the inmates, selection of officers, penology, correctional strategies, and rates of recidivism. We see that Chinese prisons have much room for development, since their harsh forced labour practices and very limited due process protections are very similar to Foucault’s (1977) description of Western prisons in the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, prisons in the United States could still benefit from some key features of the Chinese prison system. Influenced by both Confucianism and socialism, Chinese prisons emphasize the malleable nature of offenders, educational rehabilitation, professional officers, and faith in state power. All of these features may have something positive to offer in current prison reforms.