HONG KONG NGO'S CONCERNED ABOUT PRISON LABOR AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L HONG KONG 000403 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER DEPT FOR G/TIP, EAP/RSP, EAP/CM E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2033 TAGS: KCRM KWMN KFRD ASEC ELAB PHUM PINR PGOV PREF SMIG, HK, CH, MC SUBJECT: HONG KONG NGO'S CONCERNED ABOUT PRISON LABOR AND WORK STUDY PROGRAMS IN CHINA, DOMESTIC HELPERS IN HONG KONG REF: BEIJING 713 ¶1. (C) Summary: Work study programs in China are among the most troubling, under researched and uncorrected human trafficking cases there, but exploitation in prison labor programs, as well as abuses of Indonesian foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong contribute to the problem in the region. The liberal implementation of work study programs at the provincial level, coupled with a common "blind eye" toward infractions and a general acceptance among parents with the hope that their children can complete their education, contributed to elements of trafficking in persons (TIP) in China-based work study programs. Similarly, widespread abuses among prison and re-education through labor camps went--and continue to go--unreported or uncorrected for a variety of reasons. We also heard reports that Indonesian domestic helpers working in Hong Kong are being exploited by recruiters who benefited from a recent decree signed by the Indonesian Consul General here, and debt bondage was a common, yet tolerated, reality for many of them, according to several contacts. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Comment: Though commercial sex trafficking historically was the primary concern among local TIP researchers and activists, labor trafficking also contributes to the problem in China, and specifically for Indonesian domestic helpers, in Hong Kong. Many NGOs that we met with lacked or were hesitant to share details on trafficking cases, but expressed deep concern over work study and prison labor programs on the mainland and recent developments related to Indonesian domestic helpers working in Hong Kong. Furthermore, none of the contacts seemed upbeat about the prospects for effecting change in these areas, given a lack of access to information and the Chinese authorities' almost complete lack of engagement on the issue. End Comment. Work Study Programs: Nevermind the Study -------------- ¶3. (C) During meetings upon the visit of Christine Chan-Downer, Northeast Asia Reports Officer in the Office to Combat Global Trafficking in Perons, various contacts told us that work study programs in China are among the most troubling, under researched and uncorrected human trafficking cases there. Nicolas Becquelin, Hong Kong-based research director of Human Rights in China and a research consultant for Human Rights Watch, said that child labor problems persist in many provinces across the mainland, and that, despite long-standing national legislation aimed at promoting work study programs and protect participating children, many work study programs--especially in low skill jobs such as manufacturing and cleaning--include elements of labor trafficking. Becquelin also said that TIP figures on the mainland are categorized as "state secrets" and he opined that trafficking cases are "profoundly embarrassing" to mainland authorities; thus, gathering authoritative information on such cases is especially difficult. (Note: According to the 1995 "Joint Regulations" issued by the Ministry of Public Security and the State Secrecy Office on State Secrets in Public Security Work and the Scope of the Several Levels of Secrecy, information related to human trafficking is not secret, but rather "should be handled as internal matters and should not be arbitrarily released without official permission from the organization specified in the regulations." End Note.) He argued that, for the same reasons, the PRC authorities hastily investigated and prosecuted those involved in the Shanxi brick kiln incident in June, including punishment -- but no convictions -- of Chinese officials (reftel). ¶4. (C) Becquelin surmized that liberal implementation at the provincial level to fill jobs, coupled with a common "blind eye" toward infractions and a general acceptance among parents with the hope that their children can complete their education. For example, Dr. Stephen Frost, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Asia, told us that many students in Guangdong schools enter work study programs in the hospitality industry thinking they will get practical experiences in hotel operations or management, find themselves working long hours for little pay, cleaning hotel rooms or other low skill jobs. Contacts told us that these circumstances are common, but are difficult to pursue through the schools because many are closely affiliated with--or even jointly owned or managed by--the factories involved. Thus, evidence of exploitation is difficult to verify, so parents and the authorities only act on the most severe cases. Frost also said that even large U.S.-owned companies with strong compliance and audit programs--but similarly large supply chains--struggle to pursue reports of such cases, and often have limited opportunities to correct any problems. Prison Labor & Re-education Programs -------------- ¶5. (C) Frost went on to say that U.S. companies he works with--including some of the larger companies with operations on the mainland--are increasingly contacting him to seek advice following reports of prison labor being used in their supply chains. He said he noted especially that three different U.S. companies had contacted him in the past six months, but he did not yet know what the reason was for the sudden spike in reports. Robin Munro, Director of Research and Communications for China Labor Bulletin, said that local non-governmental organizations have been concerned about prison labor for many years, but he added that in addition to mainland prisons, virtually all 1,200 of which use prison labor to staff affiliated factories or farms, re-education through labor programs are comparatively more problematic. He estimated that, on average, 300,000 laborers participate in re-education programs and that work conditions are often worse than prison labor programs. Re-education through labor programs are administered by the police and not by the courts, he said, and regularly involve labor terms up to three years. Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong -------------- ¶6. (C) Indonesian foreign domestic helpers (FDH) working in Hong Kong, of which there are approximately 70,000, are regularly required to repay recruitment agencies HKD 21,000 (approx. USD 2,700) within their first seven months of employment, according to several contacts. Even FDHs making minimum wage or HKD 3,400 per month under Hong Kong law, would only make HKD 2,800 (approx. USD 360),though many of the experts we spoke with said that Indonesian FDHs are often paid as little as HKD 2,000, or little more than USD 250, per month. In either case, they said, debt bondage was a common, yet tolerated, reality. With few active unions or local activist groups Indonesian FDHs regularly were forced to rely on recruitment agencies--the only vehicle for being granted a legal foreign work permit outside of Indonesia--to maintain employment. In comparison, Filipino FDHs here are well organized and are represented by a half dozen unions. ¶7. (C) Furthermore, Diana Beaumont and others at the Asia Monitor Resource Center, as well as Lee Cheuk-yan, a legislator and President of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, told us that the Indonesian Consul General in Hong Kong, Ferry Adamhar, decreed in January 2008 in Letter of Order No. 2258, that Indonesian FDHs in Hong Kong could not change their employment agency for at least two years without his approval, further limiting their options in sometimes already dire circumstances. Various local NGOs, including the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, critized the policy for favoring the interests of recruitment agencies, rather than the purported protection it provided Indonesian FDHs working here. ¶8. (C) Lee Cheuk-yan also expressed particular concern over the Yau Ma Tei district of Hong Kong, and pledged to solicit additional information from the Hong Kong government related to the number of underage girls being exploited by the sex industry there. Lee said he would pass along his findings to poloff. Cunningham