June 14, 2007 - Chinese Slaves - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

Chinese police announce recovery of hundreds of slaves. In the communist regime of China, where dissent is given short shrift and freedom of the press is anything but, the internet has proven to be very effective in getting government authorities to take some action. For years there had been reports of Chinese children, youths and adults working as literal slaves in brick kiln camps that fuel the enormous construction growth in China’s economy. Most of those reports fell on deaf ears as the authorities denied any wrongdoing. However, when 400 fathers took their pleas onto the internet, pleading with the public and the police to find their boys, the police realized they had better respond. On June 14, 2007, police in central China announced they had rescued hundreds of slaves (numbers varied from 217 to 450) from some 7,500 brick producing kilns hidden away in the Shanxi and Henan provinces. Some 35,000 police were part of the days-long raid. The kilns were not just about bad working conditions – these workers were literally slaves, working 14 to 20 hours a day, with very little food, no sanitary conditions of any kind, and certainly no pay. They were beaten if they didn’t work hard enough. Some of the slaves were duped into thinking that they were finding paid work, while children and young boys – 29 freed in the raids – were snatched at train stations or as they were walking to school. They were sold for very little money to the operators of the kilns. Police announced that more than 120 suspects were in custody.

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