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