While the laogai has attracted widespread criticism for the poor conditions in the prisons, Seymour and Anderson claim that reports are exaggerated, stating that "even at its worst, the laogai is not, as some have claimed, "the Chinese equivalent of the Soviet gulag".
Medan laogai has dragit på sig utbredd kritik för de miserabla förhållandena i fängelserna, hävdar Seymour och Anderson att rapporter är överdrivna och påstår att "even at its worst, the laogai is not, as some have claimed, 'the Chinese equivalent of the Soviet gulag.'"