China Detains 168 People in Slave Labor Crackdown

Chinese police have detained 168 people in in a large-scale operation to rescue slave laborers in small brick kilns and mines in Shanxi and Henan provinces in central China.

Forty-eight people who were allegedly to have been involved in the illegal use of slave labors were detained in Shanxi, while the others were detained in Henan, according to local police sources

Fugitive Heng Tinghan Arrested for Slave Brickworks

One of the fugitives from the Shanxi slave brickworks has been arrested in Shigu town, Danjiangkou city of Hubei province, according to Shiyan Evening News report.

Heng Tinghan, 42-year old, from Henan province, was arrested at about 7:00 pm on Saturday. He and three others escaped after police swooped down on the slave brickworks.

Police Rescue 548 Slave Workers

Police in Shanxi Province rescued another 80 slave laborers at brick kilns and other illegal workplaces, said a public security official on Friday.

To date 331 people, including nine children, were freed in Shanxi, bringing the total number of slave workers rescued in China to 548, including 217 freed in the neighboring Henan Province.

China to Investigate into "Slave Labor" Incident 
 
China's central government will send a team of investigators to look into the use of "slave labor" at illegal brick kilns in central China, which has raised great concerns among the public.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MLSS), which will head the team, said preliminary investigations show the incident may involve abducted and forced labor.

Government Shocked at Slave Labour in Shanxi Brickworks

China's central government has been alarmed by reports that rural migrant workers are forced to toil in extremely harsh conditions in illegal brick kilns in northern Shanxi province.

The workers told the police they were forced to work 20 hours a day, while one worker was allegedly beaten to death by a thug using a spade, and his body buried in a nearby hill, a Shanxi newspaper reported.

Police Rescue 31 'Slaves' at Brickworks in N. China

Police have rescued 31 people forced to work for a year as slaves -- given only bread and water and no pay -- at a brickworks run by the son of a local Party official, the Beijing News reported today.

Eight of the workers were so traumatized by the experience they were only able to remember their names, the newspaper said, citing a report in the Shanxi Evening Post. 

217 Slave Laborers Freed After 400 Dads Call for Help

Police in Central China's Henan Province have rescued 217 laborers who were forced to work as slave laborers in local brickworks and detained 58 suspects after 400 fathers cried for help to rescue their sold children on a well-known BBS.

The province began a one-month campaign last week to crackdown on kilns using slave laborers, Dahe Daily reported today.

Among the 217 workers, 29 were juveniles and 10 were mentally ill, the report said.

Horrific Slave-labor Case Unearthed

Police in northern Shanxi Province have rescued 31 people forced to work for a year as slaves at a brickworks run by the son of a local Party official.

They were fed with only steamed buns and cold water and received no pay. Eight of the workers were able to remember only their names, the Beijing News reported yesterday.

Related:

Olympic Child Labor Probe Continues

Legal Aid to Migrant Workers