(Minghui.org) On August 1, 2012, European Commission member Tajani said at a press conference, "According to data released by the European Commission, 58% of the goods produced in China are classified as dangerous. The chromium content of children's shoes from China exceeds ten times the standard. Counterfeit goods from China involve almost all industries, including toys, tools and textiles." A report released recently shows that, last year, EU customs seized counterfeit products worth 1.3 billion Euros, and nearly three-quarters of these counterfeit products were from China.
Many reports indicate that, in mainland China, a large number of export products have been produced in prisons and labor camps. Such goods have been produced by prisoners in harsh environments, so it is difficult to guarantee their quality. These export products are potentially harmful to human health. The viscose used in the production process of general decorations mostly contain volatile solvents like toluene. After being inhaled, such solvents can cause neurotoxicity and damage to the brain, liver, kidneys, and other vital organs. They also can cause drowsiness, headaches, respiratory tract irritation, and so on. In severe cases, they can cause unconsciousness as well as liver and kidney damage and even death. Some consumers are allergic to viscose composition, causing their skin to swell and itch, which can even lead to severe breathing difficulties or death.
Slave labor products from Kunming Forced Labor Camps in Yunnan Province include a variety of handbags and wallets
These prisons and labor camps serve as underground factories that squeeze the blood and sweat out of their inmates and brutally persecute Falun Gong practitioners. They not only torture practitioners but also force them to do hard labor. An article published on the Minghui website exposed slave labor items produced in Jilin Provincial Women's Forced Labor Camp. The article revealed that they used poisonous materials to make their products, and it also described the production process and the harsh, unsanitary conditions.
“Jin-Long-Yu” is a brand of cooking oil commonly seen in grocery stores and supermarkets in China. People barely notice the small tag hanging around the neck of the bottle, and it's more unlikely that they would know that the knots were tied manually by inmates and practitioners at Shanghai Women’s Prison.
“Jin-Long-Yu” tags are Slave Labor Products from Shanghai Women’s Prison
Tying knots for “Jin-Long-Yu” tags is a long-term forced labor job that profits the Fifth Division of Shanghai Women’s Prison. Over the years, the target quota for each laborer went from tying 300 knots an hour to 650, which means 5200 knots every day, based on eight working hours a day. The strings are coarse, which causes the skin on the fingers to peel off after rubbing the strings repeatedly. This is especially true in the winter, when it’s cold and dry. After tying knots for several months in a row, the fingers become calloused, peel, become calloused again, and peel again.
The “Jin-Long-Yu” tag is a microcosm of the slave labor products at the prisons and labor camps in China. The authorities use brainwashing, torture, and slave labor as means to persecute Falun Gong practitioners physically and mentally. For example, in the Liaoning Provincial Women's Prison, at least 21 Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted to death. There is no way to count how many practitioners have been tormented until they were physically or mentally disabled. Division heads of Liaoning Women's Prison have production quota, and the sub-captains' bonuses are linked to the output, so they try to squeeze all they can out of the practitioners and do not care whether they live or die.
Slave labor squeezes the very blood and sweat out of a practitioner, and it is a tactic used to force practitioners to “transform,” ravaging them physically and mentally. At Yunnan Provincial Women's Forced Labor Camp, for example, the practitioners are forced to work from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. or midnight and sometimes to 2 a.m. The next morning, they have to start work again at 7:30 a.m. Despite the long work hours, most of them cannot complete their quotas. As a result, the guards extend the work hours, make the practitioners stand, deprive them of sleep, beat them, and extend their terms. Guards in the labor camps kick them or instigate the criminals to beat and abuse them. They also force practitioners to run or stand as a punishment, and the guards verbally and emotionally abuse them.
Over the past 13 years, practitioners detained in the labor camps and prisons in China have been forced to manufacture many cheap slave labor products, which has meant generous profits for the Chinese Communist guards and authorities. These profits from slave labor products then encourage the prisons and labor camps to continue to persecute practitioners to continue their profitable ventures. Some investment advertisements in economic development areas in Mainland China even use cheap labor from prisons and labor camps to attract foreign investment.
Communist China's slave labor products have increasingly gained international attention. They have also encouraged people to rally together to protest slave labor and its products. In fact, slave labor products hurt all of mankind. These modern slave factories are not only a serious violation of human rights, but they also hurt the commercial spirit of fair competition. The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is the destruction of humanity and morality. With conscience and justice, the world's people, regardless of race or position, all have a duty to come forward to stop the CCP's brutal slave labor system.
