December 28, 2012 1:52 pm
Letter From Chinese Labor Camp Prisoner Found in Kmart Decorations
A human rights protest in China. Photo: Informatique
An Oregon resident unknowingly bought more than just Halloween graveyard decorations at her local Kmart. Folded into eighth and stuffed between the Styrofoam tombstones, she found a letter, written mostly in English, which said that the decorations had come from the Masanjia Labor Camp in Shenyang, China. The Oregonian first printed the letter’s opener:
“Sir: If you occasionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands people here who are under the persicution of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever.”
The letter’s author described 15 hour work days, no days off and pay of around $1.61 per day. The writer said that people in the labor camp—many of them persecuted members of a banned spiritual group—often receive a sentencing of 1 to 3 years of forced labor without trial.
The letter’s authenticity is still being verified, but the director of Human Rights Watch in China has said it sounds accurate based upon what’s known about re-education through labor in China. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been notified, since it is illegal to import goods produced in a foreign country by forced labor. Sears Holdings Corporation, which oversees Kmart, also released a statement and promised to follow up on the matter.
Readers can take a look at the full letter here.
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This is another good reason to boycott Sears and Kmart because of outsourcing jobs.
Comment by Barb L — December 28, 2012 @ 2:30 pm
I think it was very unwise to have made this letter public. Its release brings a high likelihood that the inmate who wrote it along with a number of his/her fellow forced laborers will be subject to retribution from Chinese prison guards/government officials.
Comment by Jack — December 28, 2012 @ 6:17 pm
Simply boycotting KMart an Sears is not going to solve anything. What about all of the other companies that sell goods that are made by exploiting people? This is not an isolated incident, it is happening all over the place. Big corporations are making money off the misfortune of foreign workers, and the unemployment of American workers, but they are protected by our government. If you want things to change, let the people in charge know with a little more force than not buying a single brand. Write to you politicians, send editorials to the newspaper, start a conversation that causes change.
Comment by Amber — December 29, 2012 @ 9:57 am
And by $1.61 per day you must mean $1.61 per month, given that the latter explicitly states “10 yuan/1 month”. Ugh.
Comment by Adam — December 29, 2012 @ 10:59 am
I agree, I was distressed that the photo of the letter was made public.
What can people do to help stop this?
Keep records of the names of the officials who are involved in these acts?
Try to get photos of them?
Maybe someday when China is free, the officials involved in this system will be tried before a court for what they have done, as there is no statute of limitations for crimes against humanity.
Comment by Dev — December 29, 2012 @ 3:31 pm
The letter identifies the Ma San Jia 马三家 Labor Camp in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province. The Epoch Times has been writing about this camp since at least 2001; your readers can trace these articles by copying the Chinese characters I have typed into their browser. It sounds like this person is on administrative detention for being a Falun Gong member. His English standard is suspiciously high and the hand of Falun Gong is detectable, but the handwriting and notepaper look genuine.. There is some discussion of these allegations by the Taiwan media at http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2012/12/28/a822095.html.-馬三家血淚密函-臺民團呼籲制止迫害.html. I hope this info encourages you to research this story further.
Comment by Alesia148 — December 29, 2012 @ 6:33 pm