Country Report: China

Men and women work under armed guards in a state-run system of 'reeducation' factories.

A Victim's Story

In 1994 at age 26, Tong Yi was arrested and brought to the Reeducation Through Labor camp in her hometown. She believes she was arrested because of her association with a political dissident, but official charges were never filed, nor did she ever stand trial. Nevertheless, she was forced to work every day for the next two and a half years. She was given only miniscule, meat-less rations. Also, she had to squat while eating - for no apparent reason other than to humiliate her. She lived in a tiny cell, yet she could be considered lucky; her cellmate remained handcuffed and chained at all times.

Temperatures in the workplace often exceeded 120 degrees, but the 200 workers were given only half an hour each day to share the camp's six showers. Many women developed constant rashes and scars from the disease-ridden showers and the toxic chemicals used in the prison labor. One day Tong refused to work more than the government limit of eight hours, and the guards ordered her fellow inmates to beat her. She was released in 1996 and is now a law student in the US.

Since 1955, when China began its Reeducation (or Reform) Through Labor program, more than 3.5 million Chinese citizens have been punished by means of forced labor - now as many as 200,000 detainees each year. While most are imprisoned for such crimes as drug use and prostitution, a growing number of political and religious dissidents are detained. The Falun Gong, a spiritual group banned by the government, claims that over 5,000 of its members have been imprisoned in Reeducation Through Labor since 1999.

Country Background

After the communist government took control in 1949, all Chinese industry became state-owned and the government returned to traditional isolationist policies. But since the 1970's, the state has responded to the failing economy by privatizing small and medium sized enterprises and working to open the country to foreign trade. China is now a leading producer of coal, steel, textiles, and grains. Its major exports include electronic goods, toys, apparel, and plastics.

Causes of Slavery

Due in large part to its huge population, China is now a major player in the global market. But the country's economy, caught somewhere between communism and capitalism, remains under-developed. As part of an effort to become a true economic powerhouse, the government - already a rampant abuser of human rights - continues to rely on forced labor.

China claims that the purposes of the program are punishment and rehabilitation, but the RTL (also known as Laogai) is also meant to be self-sufficient, reforming citizens while extracting valuable labor. Despite trouble in the 1980's, the RTL system today shows a profit, which enables the government to fund the 1,100 camps now in existence. China's desire to become more open to foreign trade also leads other penal facilities to contract with private businesses for inmate labor.

The Process of Enslavement

As a result of China's vigorous anti-crime campaigns, the RTL has particularly targeted drug users and prostitutes. In addition, thousands of people are arrested for religious activities, political dissidence, and labor activism. Sentences are not imposed by the People's Court but by an administrative arm of the government. Women and men, young and old, are sent to prison without trial.

Working up to 16 hours a day - sometimes through the night - prisoners assemble batteries, garments, and other products. Inmates frequently cough up blood or collapse from exhaustion. Fumes damage their lungs and the powerful lighting sometimes causes blindness. Nearby, there might be a man or woman handcuffed to a railing, feet barely touching the ground - an example of a slow worker.

Sanitation in RTL facilities is lax, and disease is rampant. Inmates who have been working with toxic battery materials are often not allowed to wash their hands before meals. And the amount of food they receive - usually dirty vegetables and undercooked rice - is based on the completion of the day's quotas. Furthermore, those who fail to meet these quotas might be locked in a small hot cell filled with mosquitoes or hung from basketball hoops. Standard cells house 12 to 16 people. Prisoners stay for their entire sentence - usually between one year and several decades. If the prison faces a labor shortage, however, prisoners can be held beyond their release dates.

Products

In 1992, the US and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which prohibits trade in products produced by prison labor. Enforcement, however, is lax. The Chinese government often denies outsiders access to its prisons. Moreover, it claims that RTL centers are not "prisons," and therefore do not fall under the MOU. In fact, state-owned shipping companies frequently act as middlemen in the export of RTL products to the US. Common items produced in RTL facilities for exportation to various Western countries include clothing, auto parts, binding clips, tools, toys, graphite, and batteries.

Response on the Ground

The Laogai Research Foundation monitors and collects evidence of forced labor in RTL facilities. Human Rights Watch/Asia, and Human Rights in China also report on the state of human rights in the country.

More Information

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