Slave labour exposed in China

So I recently wrote about a television report from China which related to allegations of children working in manufacturing plants in Beijing. I mentioned there that as long as people were being paid for their work, I didn't feel it was our place to complain. I am convinced most would prefer to receive some money working manufacturing jobs than struggling to make ends meet on a farm. But the ugly sister of cheap labour has come to the party only days later. Slave labour has hit the press and the world and China together have watched in dismay and horror as an endemic is exposed in China’s mines and kilns. More than 500 battered people, including children, have been released from the shackles of their surreptitious existence.

These shameful acts were uncovered after a group of families decided that approaching the police about kidnapped children had proven futile. Chinaworker claims that the, “Parents of missing children (had) reported that police refused to intervene even when given the whereabouts of child slaves.”

In desperation, they posted a letter for help on the internet. It was this letter that has been the catalyst to the detainment of 168 people in relation to slave labour and human-trafficking. The media took up the fight where the parents could fight no more.

Arguably, had the media not uncovered the letter then the police may have continued to ignore pleas for action from those families concerned. This lackadaisical attitude from authorities may be tied to the fact that Communist Party officials have been implicated in many of the offences, with suggestions that police may have also have also colluded. Local media has been particularly stinging in demands for answers from authorities and is also seeking resignations.

CNN plucked a quote from the website of the People’s Daily: “"The dereliction of local government departments and even collusion between officials and criminals is plain to see." Such appearances leave Beijing with a nasty mess to mop up quickly.

Shanghai Daily reports that Shanxi province has “mobilized 14, 000 police officers to raid more than 2, 500” sites. Local governments have been given a 10 day deadline to investigate all these sites and interview each worker in order to mitigate future scandals. If local officials fail to meet the deadline, charges of dereliction of duty may be imposed. Clearly, authorities are keen to be seen as cracking down hard so that international scrutiny is muted quickly.

But perhaps the damage is already done: CNN argues that, “The unfolding scandal has stained the ruling Communist Party's promises to build a ‘harmonious’ society with better rights and income for hundreds of millions of poor farmers.” Such damage to the party domestically won't be tolerated, and the China Digital Times provides a "translation of a notice released by the CPC Central Office of External Communication, one of the party’s main propaganda arms:

All External Communication Offices, Central and Local Main News Websites:

Regarding the Shanxi “illegal brick kilns” event, all websites should reinforce positive propaganda, put more emphasis on the forceful measures that the central and local governments have already taken, and close the comment function in the related news reports. The management of the interactive communication tools, such as online forums, blogs, and instant messages, should also be strengthened. Harmful information that uses this event to attack the party and the government should be deleted as soon as possible. All local external communication offices should enhance their instruction, supervision and inspection, and concretely implement the related management measures.

The Internet Bureau, CPC Central Office of External Communication
June 15, 2007

Clearly this is damaging to China’s reputation, but notices like this make me wonder: Will the fact that this has been exposed on such a grand scale force Beijing to act to stamp this out wholesale, or will this damage party interests too significantly?

The local media in China has taken the fight to the authorities on this one. Will the combination of increased international scrutiny and the growing number of international media in China prompt more active journalism in China?

Media spotlight shines on China

Tonight on SBS television in Australia I was surprised by a report I had seen by a British journalist in China. The reporter was breaking a story about child labour being used by a company in China to produce official paraphernalia for the upcoming Olympics.

What surprised me was not the content, but the location. I regularly watch the news, but I am at a wits end as to recall another example of a Western journalist breaking a story from China on broadcast television. I assume this will become a more regular feature of nightly news in the West as the Olympics near, and I am very interested to see how different media around the world paint China and her activities.

This particular report had me thinking about such portrayals. Firstly, the report was simply an allegation without any footage or visual proof of the purported activity. I am fully aware that there may be children in China working in the manufacturing industry for wages many Westerners would shudder at. But I also wonder if the children and their family or guardians were asked how they felt about working in such conditions, many would not complain but be thankful that their lives are improving, albeit slowly. As long as these people are working willingly(i.e. not being used as forced labour), I think that the choice should be theirs and that over time their incomes should increase as China's economy continues its unparalled success.

Further, I am acutely aware that these goods and others like them which Chinese companies allegedly employ children to manufacture are the same goods that many across the globe snap up gleefully for their cheap prices.

Anyway, the report will be one of many that I am certain will catch the attention of many across the globe this coming year. This media spotlight on China is both a frightening yet exciting era in China’s development. The media can be used to demonise China yet it can also be used to glorify China. The Olympics have not yet begun, but the PR games are already here.

I wonder if anyone has any predictions as to how all this media attention will impact China and its domestic media industry? Will the media industry there be better for it in the long run? Does China know what it has got itself into?