China pledged on Monday to reform its laojiao system, the first sign of long-awaited progress after a senior official had promised to modify the controversial re-education-through-labor system.

The government will push reforms of the system this year, according to a national political and legal work conference on Monday, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the official statement released after the meeting.

The system allows public-security officers and other authorized personnel to detain people for up to four years without an open trial.