Police rescue 217 slaves in China

[catgirl]

Source: AFP


BEIJING (AFP) - Police said Thursday they had rescued more than 200 people, including 29 children, who were working as "slaves" in brick kilns, in a shocking revelation of labour practices in booming China.


"We have rescued 217 people, including 29 children, from brick kilns in Henan (province)," a police officer at the criminal investigation department of the Henan public security bureau told AFP by phone.

"During inspections of the kilns we arrested 120 criminal suspects."

The police officer refused to comment further, nor would he confirm widespread stories in the state press that human traffickers had been selling labourers to brick kilns in Henan and neighboring Shanxi province for months.

"The labourers were enticed or sent by human traffickers to the kilns, but upon arrival were beaten, starved and forced to work long hours without payment," the official Xinhua news agency said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070614/wl_asia_afp/chinaslaverychildren_070614130943;_ylt=Ag4aWLJcsoHSqLxLf3BiAcLMWM0F

---

And why are the olympics being held here?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. Why are the olympics held anywhere then?

You think we dont have slaves in the US/UK and other places?

[catgirl]

5. There are some good places left in the world

and yes, I am aware that slavery/sex trafficking occurs here too.
This is just one more of several disturbing news items about China,
and it is hard to believe that their government (and other gov's) don't
know about all these crimes. The pet food/ingredient scandal is an
example of that.

So, what does the Olympics stand for? Countries boycott them if
they don't approve of where they're held. I have a feeling there may be
some boycotts.

[Fridays Child]

2. For this...

[ima_sinnic]

3. jeez that is offensive to my eyes.

all that waste--that stuff is hideous--it is a sin that kids play with that crap one time and then toss it, after the resources and tedious labor that went into making it. And now the brats won't even consider a "meal" without a "toy." ugh.

[silverojo]

10. And whose fault is that?

It's adults' fault for teaching the children that meal + toy = normal. Kids aren't born materialistic, you know....

Also, have you ever looked at the crappy toys kids of previous generations had? What did your toybox look like when you were a kid?

Waste has been going on ever since the "greatest generation" raised a generation of spoiled brats. It's our job to teach our children the consequences of waste, and to teach them how to reduce/reuse/recycle.

Lay off the kids--it's not their fault we've f*cked up the world.

[Nomad559]

4. Did the police rescue

any slaves from the iPod factory?

iPod maker admits breaking Chinese labor laws; says Apple approved sweatshop labor

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=32644
"Apple Computer is getting into a deep PR mess over the antics of one of its its Chinese partners," Nick Farrell reports for The Inquirer.

"After denying that it was running a sweatshop that would be familiar to Charles Dickens, Apple's Ipod manufacturer, Foxconn has finally admitted that it broken Chinese labour laws," Farrell reports.

[silverojo]

11. Another reason to pick Linux over crApple n/t

[Eugene]

6. China catches slave-labor boss amid national uproar

Source: Reuters

China catches slave-labor boss amid national uproar

1 hour, 53 minutes ago

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have captured a man
accused of holding workers in virtual slavery, state media
reported on Sunday amid a national scandal over rural
teenagers and men forced to work in brutal, furnace-like
brick kilns.

Heng Tinghan is accused of holding 31 workers in a kiln in
Hongtong county in north China's Shanxi province. Police
caught him late on Saturday after a nationwide manhunt,
the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Heng, a native of neighboring Henan province, was found
on the run in central China's Hubei province, Xinhua said.
He is accused of operating a kiln where one worker died
and 20 were injured while working under filthy and
abusive conditions.

-snip-

State television has reported owners of the primitive
brick-making operations ran them like prisons with fierce
dogs and beatings to deter escapes.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070617/ts_nm/china_slaves_dc

[burrowowl]

8. Just like American Smelting and Refining

Used to capture Indians in Mexico from the late 1880s up to WWII and the U$ would send the army and the marines into Mexico to quell strikes. General Pershing got lots of practice shooting people and quelling rebellion.

[burrowowl]

7. Only 217

I'll there are at least millions or more.
Plus how many sent to NY to work in the garment indutry!?

[w4rma]

9. "Shocking"? This is not very shocking to anyone who has been paying attention. (nt)