BEIJING, Nov. 29 -- China's community correction program will not turn into a new form of "reeducation through labor," according to Vice Minister of Justice Zhao Dacheng on Friday.

Zhao made the comments at a press conference in response to a question about concerns how community correction will be carried out after the "reeducation through labor" system, or "Laojiao," is abolished.

The official said practices used under the Laojiao system will not be part of the community correction program.

A key policy document of the Communist Party of China published earlier this month said Laojiao will be abolished as part of a major effort to protect human rights.

There are some points that clearly distinguish community correction from Laojiao, Zhao said.

The community correction program is to educate convicts and its application and procedures are stipulated in criminal law and criminal procedure law, while Laojiao was used to handle minor offenders whose offences did not fall within the criminal law, Zhao said.

Under the community correction program, a convicted person will not be held in a special venue but he or she will be required to receive rectification education in the community they live in. This is another obvious difference from Laojiao, he said.

According to a document issued at the press conference, as of the end of last month, the community correction program, first put into trial use in 2003 and launched nationwide in 2009, has received 1.67 million convicted people and more than 1 million have completed it.

The program acts as a part of the country's policy of "justice tempered with mercy," Zhao said.

He also said the ministry will improve the legal aid program for underprivileged groups.

In 2012, more than 1.4 billion yuan (229.7 million U.S. dollars) was used for providing legal assistance services, the document said.

The ministry will work to make the program available for more people and the quality of services will also be improved, Zhao said.

The vice minister also pledged further efforts in reducing the use of death penalty.