Slaves Saved From China Brick Factories

Official Says 359 Migrant Workers, Many Children, Found Working In Illegal Kilns

(AP)  China is still freeing people — including children — forced to work as slaves in illegal brick factories, two months after the scandal involving the brick yards was exposed, officials said Monday.

The scandal erupted in early June after Chinese media reported that children as young as 8 were abducted or recruited from bus and train stations with false promises of well-paying jobs and sold to kilns for about 500 yuan ($65).

The victims were forced to work almost around the clock, beaten, and deprived of pay, nourishment and basic medical care.

"Another 359 slave migrant workers have been rescued in Shanxi since late June, including 15 child workers and 121 mentally handicapped ones," said Xue Yanzhong, executive vice governor of Shanxi province, in a statement posted on the central government's official Web site.

The workers were found in 17 newly discovered brick kilns that abducted workers, imprisoned them and forced them to work, he said.

One of the worst areas for the illegal kilns was in Shanxi province, said Sun Baoshu, vice minister of labor and social security.

"Nearly 66 percent of the brick kilns in Shanxi were illegal," he said in a separate statement. But Sun said the kilns and slave workers have been found in other parts of China, and 1,340 migrant workers have been rescued nationwide so far.

Sun said 147 suspects who ran the 17 kilns had been arrested.

"Those criminals will be punished according to the law. Government officials who took part in the illegal business, used their power for profit and protected the gangs will be punished severely according to the law and Communist Party discipline," he said.

Dozens of people have already been jailed, and last month the foreman of a brick kiln in Shanxi where workers were beaten and forced to work 18-hour days was sentenced to life in jail. One of his subordinates was sentenced to death for the beating death of a laborer.

[olebd]

What now Wal Mart? Care to make a statement?

I'm sure this is only a sample of what goes on there. But the deals keep on coming to our shores and we have no choice left than to keep buying and buying their junk.

[gopack443]

Wal-mart sells bricks?

[oleander8]

Nothing is made in the states anymore - you have to buy foreign. When was the last time you saw a pair of shoes made in the US?

[lostcountry1]

we used to fight communism and communists. now we support them with every dollar we spend. what's wrong with this picture?

[olebd]

Wal Mart was the pioneer who blazed the biggest path to China and all the other companies followed after Wal Mart beat them into (price)submission.

[olebd]

Wal-mart sells bricks?
Posted by gopack443 at 09:29 AM : Aug 13, 2007

In their lawn and garden dept they sell brick edging that more than likely come from places like the ones in this article.

[my2centss]

I buy American when I can, and sometimes pay 4x as much for an identical item. I have heard that since NAFTA, China sometimes passes goods through Mexico to avoid restrictions. Also I heard a guy talking about his job where it was to pull made in China stickers off of oak goods, making you believe they were made here. Who knows?

[mcvet]

Wal Mart was the pioneer who blazed the biggest path to China and all the other companies followed after Wal Mart beat them into (price)submission.
Posted by olebd at 10:24 AM : Aug 13, 2007

Walmart is run by Southern Nazi who have a long and sorted history of doing things like this to folks THEY feel are not equal or less equal. They like ALL southern fascist do NOT exhibit true American Values! Sieg Heil Y'all

[mcvet]

Wal-mart sells bricks?
Posted by gopack443 at 09:29 AM : Aug 13, 2007
+ report abuse


LOL Yep and much more made by forced labor. You can put your swastika blinders on now. That should make you free trade Nazi's feel REAL good. Sieg Heil Y'all.

[lostcountry1]

what about this. we take all of the illegals we can catch,'and continue catching', put them to work in the factories of the illegal employers that were consfiscated for being engaged in illegal activity,'like they do with drug cars,homes,etc..,and make them work for repayment of the cost of roundup, as well as a fine of say $3000.00 for being here illegally.they could make the goods we need for no pay so we could actually have a cheaper workforce than outsourcing right here. i mean, they only come here to work, right? we could kill two birds with one stone. any additional thoughts?

[ozone-baby]

what about this. we take all of the illegals we can catch,'and continue catching', put them to work in the factories of the illegal employers that were consfiscated for being engaged in illegal activity,'like they do with drug cars,homes,etc..,and make them work for repayment of the cost of roundup, as well as a fine of say $3000.00 for being here illegally.they could make the goods we need for no pay so we could actually have a cheaper workforce than outsourcing right here. i mean, they only come here to work, right? we could kill two birds with one stone. any additional thoughts?
Posted by lostcountry1 at 11:23 AM : Aug 13, 2007


I like the way you think lol
He** where I live they aren't migrant farm workers, they are taking the higher paying manufacturing jobs ( the ones that aren't in Mexico and China now) for a cheaper wage than American workers so let them have them only don't pay them

[dukeudevil]

So, the very same country which pirates every product it can, eschews human rights, engages in child labor at best and slavery at worst, denies massacres against its own people, jails or executes citizens for dissenting opinions, exports deadly or poisonous foods to other countries, and ships toothpaste tainted with antifreeze around the globe will actually host the Olympics?!

Jeesh, the world must be *really* afraid of the Chinese to grant them the Olympic Games. Surely the Chinese government is being appeased.

[lostcountry1]

i was just reading how bush signed law to stiffen borders useing reservists. they say they will stop the catch and release program by adding more beds to the already overcrouded local jails. i think we can do better. make them work off the cost of deportation, . another scenario, send the deportation bill to the mexican president. tell them to pay or we'll start pulling u.s. companies out of mexico and back in the u.s. where they belong.

[house015]

We have always had the choice about buying Chinese products, and you CAN buy non-chinese goods as long as you stop trying to save the last possible nickel on things and accumulating as much junk as you can on your salary. Wal-Mart simply exploited everyone's lust for saving a dollar on a tee shirt, we are just now seeing the ramifications of our greed. Buy quality things, recycle and re-use instead of filling your tract house with a revolving cycle of new ***.

[missyx21]

I blame both governments. I blame china for not doing enough to protect their own freaken people. and blame this government for giving companies tax breaks for taking their business overseas.

Something is fu((king wrong with Americans for excepting this kind of behavior and buying their products. China won't do a freaken thing to protect those who can't even speak up for themselves cause we as Americans are feeding the government every dollar we have, even after knowing all this is happening.

[amazedd]

;)

[dzfromsc]

I wish everyone of you would write letters to your Congressmen, even if you don't think it will do any good, stating that you want manufacturing brought back to the US, that you're willing to pay a little more, that you want stricter rules, etc.

WalMart imports more products than any other retailer. They treat their employees and thier venders like dirt and they have terrible customer service. You buy there, you're contributing to the problem. I'd like to see everyone of you at Target instead. BAN WALMART!!!

Although I think China would do/say anything right now to get some positive press, there probably were slaves there becasue the Shanxi province is on the northern outskirts which are very rural and less populated. The borders get blurry near Mongolia and there is much violence.

On top of writing those letters and shopping at Target, I want all of you to do a little more research on China before you make your assumptions.

[olebd]

Add Nike to the list who uses Indonesia labor to manufacture their goods. The majority of Indonesians are Muslim and most despise the USA and Americans. But they love our money.

[rushlimpdrug]

Also I heard a guy talking about his job where it was to pull made in China stickers off of oak goods, making you believe they were made here. Who knows?
Posted by my2centss

I've heard of similar stories. How sad for this once proud nation of ours.
United States of Made in China

[stormcoming]

How do you guys feel so good about being an American?Without our people from third worlds feeding your maggots, your guys would led a very miserable life. America is a country robbing the developing countries in my mind. I feel pity about your guys narrow minds.

[nothappyatall]

," that you're willing to pay a little more, that you want stricter rules, etc."

I don't think a shirt made in America for $49 v/s one from China for $8.95 is costing 'a little more', this is not a matter of $14.95 v/s $14.45!


"We have always had the choice about buying Chinese products, and you CAN buy non-chinese goods as long as you stop trying to save the last"

Good luck, I have a habit of looking at goods on shelves, 95% of what I see either says made in China or made in Taiwan. A box of galvanized NAILS I bought- the print on the box has a spelling error;
"actual lenght 3-1/2", the nails are made in China, they are PACKAGED in the USA by Midwest fasteners, Rochester MN it says. So basically they are China's packaging peeons.
Plastic clips on the counter at the local hardware store- made in China it says, tools, hardware, fasteners- ALL made in China or overseas.
When you find an American brand, look closely and find where it says made in China *FOR* brand
Machinery and heavy equipment- drill press, woodworking machines, milling machines, saws- all made overseas.

[brianbwb-2009]

The majority of Indonesians are Muslim and most despise the USA and Americans. But they love our money.
Posted by olebd

You are grossly mistaken. I am an American, non Muslim (in fact atheist) and lived and worked in Indonesia for more than twenty years, presently commuting between Bali and Singapore.

Indonesia is the country with the largest population of Muslims, but they don't despise the US, in fact I am constantly amazed at how much they admire almost all things American.

They do currently disagree wholeheartedly with our foreign policy, as do I, but your blanket assertion that because they are Muslim that they hate us is so incorrect as to be laughable.

They protest Nike because the company pretends not to see when local management cheats the workers out of their $1 a day salary.

This is what the globalization proponents didn't mention in their hype, that American workers would have to compete with slave labor, and Reagan's "trickle down" was BS. Ross Perot's "sucking sound" is your livelihoods being outsourced to slave labor.

[brianbwb-2009]

"tell them to pay or we'll start pulling u.s. companies out of mexico and back in the u.s. where they belong.
Posted by lostcountry1"

Both the Mexicans and the US companies doing business there will laugh hysterically upon hearing that, the US companies are there because they want to be, and the US government cannot "pull them out" without first declaring war on Mexico.

[lostcountry1]

brianbwb,you seem to be content with leaving everything as-is.you offer nothing but an attitude that 'too bad americans, there's nothing you can do to change things'. are you for slave labor bringing down america? you think pulling factories out of mexico as a means of making them accountable for the millions of illegals here, is soo much hot air? what would you do to help this country and the slaves of another country? anything? just stay with the status quo?it's not my fault everything is made in another country, and we dont have a choice in goods. try boycotting the most affordable things in this economy. no one wants to supportr another country before their own but wer'e kinda screwed. any help from you?

[erasmus6]

China is a sick country.