Shanxi brick kiln

Song: Chinese Children

Zhou Yunpeng 周云蓬, 38, is a poet and folk singer based in Beijing. He went blind when he was nine. His last image of the colored world was the elephant in a zoo playing harmonica. This became an inspiration for him to write songs...

Netizen Party Announced

It’s happened at last. From John Kennedy at Global Voices: From forcing the rescue of hundreds of brick kiln slave laborers last year and seeing it through long after local bodies gave up to being analytical piranhas when...

A Net Campaign for the Parents of Slaves

On Global Voices, Bob Chen reminds us that the families of brick kiln slave workers are still desperately searching for their lost children, despite the lack of prolonged media or government interest in helping: According to the...

Look Up to the Stars Together – Lian Yue

Freelance writer and blogger Lian Yue rewrote the poem, Look Up to the Stars by China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. Lian’s poem, from Niubo Net, translated by CDT: I look up to the stars, So vast and profound; As abysmal as the road to the mine. The infinite truth, So hard for me to seek […]

Combing the Brickyards for the Disappeared – Andreas Lorenz

Spiegel Online tells the story of laborers forced to work in the Shanxi brick kilns and of families still searching for loved ones who may have disappeared inside the kilns: Chinese intellectuals like Hu Shuli, the editor in chief of the business magazine Caijing, are questioning whether the country — with its poorly paid labor […]

More Than 1,000 Rescued From Forced Labor In China – Xinhua

Xinhua News Agency just run this update report about investigation and law enforcement on Shanxi brick kilns: A total of 1,340 people, 367 of whom are mentally handicapped, have been rescued from forced labor since the notorious brick kiln forced labor scandal came to light in June, a joint investigation group reported on Monday afternoon. […]

In Search of the Missing Kiln Workers – Joel Martinsen

Reports concerning forced labor at brick kilns in Shanxi province have disappeared from the Western media in recent weeks, but the case is not yet resolved. As Danwei reports, journalists and netizens in China are helping to track down people still missing who are suspected of having been forced to work in the kilns. From […]

Shanxi Governor Bows for Better Public Service – Nanfang Group

Shanxi Province’s governor recently plead with his colleagues to do a better job in managing crises after punishments were handed down in the brick kiln slavery debacle. Selected passages translated from Nanfang Group, via sina.com: Shanxi penalized 95 local officials for failure in crisis mismanagement, or lack of speedy action, in the aftermath of the […]

China Slavery Verdict Angers Families – Ching-Ching Ni

Apparently many family members of the victims of the Shanxi slave labor case are not appeased by the recent sentences handed down to brick kiln management: “We are very angry. This sentence is too lenient,” said Zhang Shanlin, father of a young man so badly beaten and burned that he cannot walk without assistance. “The […]

Beijing’s Lack of Penalties in Labor Cases Stirs Outrage – Howard W. French

China announced verdicts yesterday in the Shanxi Brick Kiln slave labor controversy. According to the New York Times, popular response to the government’s measures, which included prosecution of only a few low-level officials, has been somewhat less than enthusiastic: Chinese journalists say government propaganda officials have urged the news media to limit coverage of the […]

95 Chinese Officials Punished in Forced Labour Scandal – IANS

From IANS, via China National News: China’s forced labour scandal has led to the punishment of 95 officials in north China’s Shanxi province, with some sacked from their party or government posts and others given disciplinary warnings for lax supervision and dereliction of duty. The provincial disciplinary commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) […]

China Tries 26 For Slave Labour - AFP

The second phase in China’s legal response to the Shanxi illegal brick kiln'(ȪëÁ†ñÁ™ë) controversy has begun. From AFP via Yahoo! News: Another 26 people accused of forced labour and brutal conditions in brickyards have gone on trial in China amid a scandal that has outraged the nation, state press said Thursday. The defendants are all […]

Only Democracy Ensures Human Dignity – Liu Junning (ÂàòÂÜõÂÆÅ)

Liu Junning (ÂàòÂÜõÂÆÅ) is a researcher on social issues at the Institute of Chinese Culture under China’s Ministry of Culture. UPI Asia Online translated the article (original Chinese here): Recently exposed cases of enslaved child and adult laborers in China’s inland provinces have drawn nationwide attention. There are different opinions as to the causes behind […]

The Shanxi Officials In The Eye Of The Storm – Ma Changbo (È©¨ÊòåÂçöÔºâ

Southern Weekend has continued coverage of the Shanxi brick kiln case by interviewing several officials in Hongdong County about their role in the incident. ESWN translated the article (original Chinese here): The Southern Weekend reporter interviewed a large number of Shanxi government officials at various levels and went into a previously unexplored subject area about […]

Chinese Slave Labour Trial Begins – BBC News

From BBC News: A trial has begun of 12 people who are accused of involvement in a slave labour scandal in illegal mines and brick factories in northern China . Among those who went on trial on Wednesday are kiln boss Wang Bingbing and foreman Heng Tinghan , state news agency Xinhua said. The charges […]

Black Kiln Incident Originates In Local Tyranny – Wu Si (Âê¥ÊÄù)

Wu Si (Âê¥ÊÄù) is a well respected thinker, author and historian in China. The following interview was published on a Chinese news site Red Net on June 29, 2007. Thanks to David Kelly for the translation. Editor’s note: When the Shanxi black kiln incident was exposed by the media, critics rapidly responded, exploring the core […]

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