Forced LaborArchive 2008–2016

Forced Labor in Shanghai (1997)

A forced labor case from 1997 in Shanghai, China.

This page describes exploitation and abuse. Need to report something? How to report →

Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?

What happened

Of sorts. The victim, Shenqi, was incarcerated first at the Shanghai Municipal Prison for political crimes in 1983. By 1994, he was working at the 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion Shanghai Reeducation-through-Labor (Laojiao) Camp in Dafeng County, Jiangsu Province. In cooperation with a state-run knitting mill, he was forced along with other inmates to manufacture clothing for as long as 20 hours per day. Eventually, Shengqi moved to a different labor camp in which he made Christmas lights for export from the Haiman Lamp Company. Direct quote from Shenqi's personal testimony: "On laojiao farms, inmates were often beaten and cursed. The government cadres cuffed and kicked them at will. Those laojiao inmates trusted to supervise other inmates beat and cursed them even more." All of the above information is from "To Plead Our Own Cause" by Dr. Kevin Bales and Zoe Trodd - Cornell University Press - 2008.

Response and intervention

Shenqi was eventually released from the prison system in China. Through personal interviews with staff at Free the Slaves/Anti-Slavery International.

Nearby cases

All 16 in China →

Sex Trafficking2011

Qingdao, Shandong, China, 2011

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1 sourceArchive 2008–2016

Child Labor2001

Yongcheng in Henan Province, China, 2001

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Ji Xiulan, believed to be aged in her 60s, had been a fugitive since the trafficking ring was busted in 2003. Ji is allegedley one of the leaders of the gang accused of selling 118 babies between 2002 and 2003. Of the 118 babies, the eldest was three months old, with the youngest just two days, the Yulin Intermediate People's Court said. The families of the babies were paid only a few dollars for the infants, who were later sold for $130-$260. This has been the largest trafficking ring in China since the formation of the People's Republic of China. The case is said to be linked with China's "one child" family planning policy.

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Forced Labor2007

Jieshou, China, 2007

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Chinese law enforcement cracked down on the practice and promised more investigation into forced labor throughout the country.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016