"SLAVE LABOR" SCANDAL HITS CHINA AGAIN: 33 FORCED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SHENYANG 000036

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/CM, DRL, G/TIP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ELAB GTIP KCRM ECON CH
SUBJECT: "SLAVE LABOR" SCANDAL HITS CHINA AGAIN: 33 FORCED
LABORERS DISCOVERED IN HEILONGJIANG

Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL STEPHEN B. WICKMAN.
REASONS: 1.4(b)/(d).


1. (U) SUMMARY: Authorities in Heilongjiang Province
announced yesterday that they discovered 33 migrant "slave
laborers" held captive and coerced to work--some for as
long as three years--in a suburb of the provincial capital.
Initial reports claim the captors "systematically" targeted
vulnerable migrant workers, many mentally disabled, and
subjugated them through violence. This is not the first
"slave labor" scandal to hit Harbin; police late last year
freed another six migrant workers living under similar
circumstances. Chinese websites are displaying an interest
in this latest, quickly-evolving story reminiscent of last
year's larger-scale forced labor in the brick kilns of
Shanxi Province. END SUMMARY.

"SLAVE LABOR" IN HARBIN: THE DETAILS THUS FAR
--------------

2. (U) Authorities in Heilongjiang Province detained
several individuals suspected of holding over 30 migrants
captive, forcing them to work--some for as long as three
years--in what preliminary Chinese media reports describe
as "slave"-like conditions. Official national and local
media announced yesterday that police in the provincial
capital of Harbin last week found 33 "slave laborers"
confined in a squalid 30-square-meter room. The discovery
was made only after nearby residents found another captive
laborer who had either fallen or jumped to his death from
the window of the apartment building where the men were
being held. Many were either mentally disabled or of
diminished capacity when found, according to reports;
police told journalists most could not communicate their
names, ages and other identifying information. Initial
reports claim the captors "systematically" targeted
vulnerable migrant workers in transport stations throughout
northeast China and, through false promises of employment,
lured their victims to a suburb of Harbin where they were
subsequently forced to work long hours at construction jobs
without remuneration. Attempted escapes met with severe
beating, according to a Xinhua reporter who interviewed a
migrant-turned-"guard" who himself had been seized by the
group last year and was ultimately enlisted as a captor
through promises of remuneration.


2. (U) Details remain unclear, although the youngest
laborer mentioned thus far is 20 years of age. He and his
fellow captives hailed not just from Heilongjiang but
throughout the country, including Hebei, Inner Mongolia,
Jilin and Sichuan. Harbin authorities swiftly repatriated
some of the migrant laborers to their home provinces, and
announced that the government would help find employment
for those who elect to remain in Harbin. According to one
online report, seven former captives who elected to stay
already received jobs--at either a brick factory or a
cattle farm--but Post has not been able to confirm this
development. Other reports suggest Civil Affairs officials
in Harbin still have custody of several whose mental
capacity precluded identity determination. Police remain
on the lookout for the captors' ringleader.

NOT HEILONGJIANG'S FIRST SUCH SCANDAL
--------------

3. (U) This is not the first "slave labor" scandal to hit
Harbin or, more precisely, Harbin's notorious Hulan
District--the northern suburb where the workers were held.
In November 2007, Harbin police freed six migrant workers
lured by false employment prospects and coerced to work for
eight months for just RMB 50 (USD 7),according to a report
by the Heilongjiang Morning News later that month. Police,
who at the time claimed this was Harbin's first such case,
found and arrested the ringleader only several months
later.


4. (SBU) Hulan District, formerly a rural county before
administratively integrated into Harbin municipality, is
well known among Heilongjiang residents as a haven for
migrant workers. Native Heilongjiang-ers informed Poloffs
on previous occasions that it is perceived as a rough,
"wild" area where police enforcement is poor. Provincial
residents describe Hulan as a magnet for criminals and
unscrupulous characters from throughout the province
seeking escape, employment or both.


SHENYANG 00000036 002 OF 002


GOVERNMENT, PRESS ACTIVITY THUS FAR
--------------

5. (C) Several Heilongjiang journalists familiar with the
case generally confirmed the accuracy of the initial media
reports, which they described as relatively thorough, and
told us more articles will follow. Post's attempts to
privately contact WANG Li, the Harbin Vice Mayor
responsible for the city's civil-affairs portfolio, were
unsuccessful. MA Haifeng (STRICTLY PROTECT),Vice Mayor
Wang's secretary, told us early in the evening of March 20
that Harbin's vice mayors in charge of labor and public
security, respectively, were in the midst of a meeting to
discuss the case.


6. (SBU) Preliminary monitoring of online Chinese news
websites, blogs and BBS boards revealed a number of sites--
everything from those of the official Xinhua News Agency to
the Shanghai Federation of Labor Unions--taking an interest
in this still-quickly-evolving story. Most bloggers and
smaller news outlets appear to be playing it safe, largely
reposting the early reports on the case written by two
Heilongjiang papers: the Shenghuo Bao (part of the official
Heilongjiang Daily) and the Xinwan Bao (part the official
Harbin Daily). The most critical commentary thus far has
come from MA Diming, a blogger (and occasional contributor
to the official Xinhua),who criticized the local
government's negligence in protecting the rights of migrant
workers, calling for an investigation to determine
accountability.
WICKMAN