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Source:
http://www.colby.edu/par/Winter%2098/Laogai.htm

December 27, 2009

The Chinese Gulag

By Daniel J. O'Connor

A dark side of this unprecedented period of American prosperity is America’s involvement with arguably the world’s most exploited group of people, the slave laborers belonging to an insidious system of prison camps known by some as the Chinese Gulag. Two separate Chinese institutions, “ the Laogai, (literally “reform through labor”) and the Laojiao (literally: “re-education through labor”) compose the Chinese Gulag, also known collectivly as the “Laogai.” Both the Laogai and Laojiao play integral roles in both the subjection of the Chinese people and the strengthening of the Chinese economy.

Laogai committees operate in provinces and regions directly under the central government, as well as in large and medium cities. Officials from civil affairs, public and labor organizations in these provinces examine and approve those in need of official “reform” and “reeducation.” Chinese officials often sentence citizens to these prison camps for charges of “counter-revolutionary activities,” “irresponsibly organizing illegal meetings,” and for trumped-up charges of “hooliganism.” Officials also charge “criminals” with vague and nonspecific crimes such as “violating administrative norms,” “disturbing the social order,” and “associating with groups which have committed murder, robbery, rape, arson, [etc.].” Human rights groups claim Chinese officials have arrested and sentenced thousands of citizens to these camps having committed no crime at all. Experts estimate a total six to eight million prisoners populate Laogai camps.

The Chinese government uses the Laogai to stifle political dissent and exercise control over their citizens. Although the Chinese government denies that it holds political prisoners the number of person detained or serving sentences for “counter-revolutionary crimes” or crimes against the state” and for the peaceful political or religious activities are believed to number in thousands. According to one recent Congressional report Chinese officials “effectively silenced [all public dissent against the Communist party and Chinese government] by intimidation, exile, the imposition of prison terms, administrative detention, or house arrest.” Because of these ruthless tactics, no Chinese dissidents were known to be active at the year’s end.

Laogai prisoners lose their internationally recognized presumption of innocence upon receiving their hasty sentence from Chinese police officials. Entering the prison camps, the prisoners lose their right to fair trials, the right to consul, and the right to appeal the sentence. Sentences last one to three years on a camp or work farm or until the prisoner are properly “re-educated.” Military Police guard these inmates even though under the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law, the laoguy and laojiao are not criminal sanctions but rather “administrative actions.”

Both Laogai and Laojiao camps are labor intensive. The twelve hundred known Laogai camps, spread out all across the country, are responsible for the manufacturing of industrial products, such as hoist works, automotive parts, and various types of machine and factory tools. Laogai prisoners also produce a significant amount of Chinese chemical and rubber-related goods. The two hundred-eighty Laojiao camps primarily concentrate on the cultivation of textile-related agricultural products such as silk, cotton, and wool. Laojiao prisoners also work at labor-intensive brick factories and various types of mines.

Beyond the harshness of their daily work, slave laborers face brutal treatment in jail. Although the Chinese regulations claim there should be “awards for achievement and punishment for wrong doings... [while]punishment should be light,” Laogai prisoners often receive severe beatings, various forms of torture, and even death for noncompliance and misbehavior. For example, according to one Human Rights Watch sponsored report, Chinese officials locked Liu Nianchun, a labor rights activist protesting his punishment with a hunger strike, into a punishment cells without water so that he might receive electroshock torture. Many experts have also linked the Chinese black-market for human body parts to the Laogai.

According to our own laws, it is illegal to import goods produced by such oppressive conditions. The unwarranted arrest and confinement of citizens into these camps violates human rights provisions of international law. Article 9, Section 4 of the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) guarantees that “anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that the court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention.” Article 9 and Article 10 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaim that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.” Provisions within American law, such as section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and section 1761 of Title 18 US Code, explicitly forbid the importation of products made with the use of slave labor into the United States.

Although importation of slave labor produced goods violates moral, ethical, and legal restrictions, an estimated three billion dollars worth of Laogai and Laojiao goods flow into the United States each year. Although Chinese officials insist that products made with forced labor are only sold only within China’s domestic market and continually deny that they export any Laogai products, a variety of sources show that foreign businesses, especially American businesses, can place purchase orders with prison camps directly through Hong Kong trading companies. Laogai experts have produced evidence that suggests that numerous American companies such as Amico, a major parts provider to office supply retailers like Staples and Boise Cascade, Dow Chemical, Chrysler, Adidas, and a host of other businesses, import Laogai made goods.

The United States judicial system has been slow to respond to this flood of illegal imports. In 1993, the United States Customs Office investigated the Columbus McKinnon Chain Hoist Company only after the Laogai Research Foundation revealed its activities. Customs sent its report to the United States Department of Justice, who sent the report to Chinese officials, who have currently done no investigation on their own. In May of 1995, the President of the Ashbury Graphite of New Jersey admitted on the NBC Nightly News, a national newscast, to receiving expandable graphite from the Shandog Province Beishu Prison graphite-mine. The Department of Justice has yet to investigate or prosecute. In addition, only twenty-seven of the known twelve hundred Laogai camps have been officially banned from trading with the United States.

Attempts to stop the influx of slave labor products started in 1992 under the leadership of then President George Bush, who signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chinese officials. Under this agreement, China promised to promptly investigate companies suspected of violating forced labor regulations, furnish the United States with evidence and information regarding suspected violations of labor laws, and allow the United States to visit suspected Laogai camps. President Clinton renegotiated the MOU so that Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status is contingent upon the enforcement of the MOU.

According to the United States State Department, however, the Chinese have been reluctant to fully comply with the Memorandum of Understanding agreements. Simply because they have ratified the MOU agreements, the Chinese deny that any Laogai products enter the United States. The Chinese have also been reluctant to comply with the clauses within the MOU agreements that mandate Chinese cooperation with the United States. In 1996, the State Department issued a report sighting “repeated delays in arranging prison labor site visits called into Chinese intentions regarding the implementation of the two agreements.” In addition, Chinese officials have refused to grant American visitors ample time and access to conclusively assess the character of these prison sites. Chinese officials also frequently disguise and change the names of their Laogai camps, making it impossible for the U.S. Customs Department to trace the true origins of certain products made in China.

The United States prides itself for its tough stance on the protection of worker’s rights and human rights. Importation of Laogai products into the United States undermines these tough stances since our businesses can now circumvent our labor laws and exploit these unfortunate prisoners. Cooperation with the Chinese in allowing such products into our country only sends the message that the United States is willing to compromise on human rights merely for material profit. Only American businesses now can choose for themselves to stop importing Laogai goods; only American love-for-money can prevent the right decisions on this issue from being made. And only American greed and self-interest can prevent us from listening to the cry from the Chinese Gulag.

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