October 25, 2011 - Washington, DC

Many Americans think slavery a thing of the past or only occurring in underdeveloped countries, but slavery actually hits close to home. The CIA estimates over 1 million people are enslaved in the US today. The State Department estimates 17,500 people are brought into the US yearly to become slaves; many end up as domestic servants, farmhands, or prostitutes.

On October 22nd, the Laogai Research Foundation joined nearly 2,000 people to protest modern slavery and human trafficking at the DC Stop Modern Slavery Walk. The 5K walk started at the Vietnam Women’s Memorial and circled the Tidal Basin.

After the walk, the Laogai Research Foundation and other organizations supporting the event held a non-profit information fair. LRF members met others working toward eradicating modern slavery, forced labor, and trafficking. LRF shared information about China’s oppressive Laogai forced labor prisons with these enthusiastic advocates. Walk participants enjoyed live music and listened to the testimonials of human trafficking survivors. Each presenter had compelling stories for the audience, adding a sense of urgency to the need to fight modern slavery.

Participating organizations focused on different aspects of contemporary slavery and human trafficking. Major partners included Free the Slaves, a nonprofit working to end exploitation and human trafficking worldwide through research, advocacy, and on-the-ground support, and End Slavery Now, a charity that helps coordinate actions of a variety of anti-slavery NGOs on a global scale. Despite their differences, each group is dedicated to eradicating modern slavery.

Forced labor in China is just one small piece of the modern slavery puzzle. Joint efforts such as the Walk generate support for ending human rights abuse around the world. DC Stop Modern Slavery Walk estimates that the event raised over $80,000, but as they have yet to reach their $100,000 goal, they will continue to accept donations through December 1st. It was inspiring to see so many people raise awareness about massive human rights injustices. With more people aware of modern slavery, it will be hard for policy makers to continue to ignore modern slavery on a national and a international level.

See below for photos from the walk, and to learn more about slavery and trafficking in China.

What is Slavery?

"Slavery: the condition of an individual who works for another individual against his or her will as a result of force, coercion, or imprisonment, regardless of whether the individual is paid for the labor.”

Slavery in China:

• The Laogai, or forced labor prison camps, are unique because they are government-mandated and managed. Prisoners of conscience and common criminals are often sent to labor camps without trial, and they are forced to work without pay in horrible conditions. The LRF has documented the existence of 1,007 labor camps currently operating in China, and estimates 3-5 million prisoners are in these camps at any given time.

What is Human Trafficking?

"Human trafficking is a crime against humanity. It involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them.” 

Human Trafficking in China:

• A massive gender imbalance is currently driving an increase in sex trafficking in China. The gender ratio resulting from the Chinese Communist Party’s One Child Policy is currently 119 boys to 100 girls. By 2020, there will be 30 million more men of marriageable age than women. Women from Burma, Laos, Vietnam, and North Korea are often kidnapped and sold as prostitutes or wives. The CCP considers North Korean human trafficking victims to be “economic migrants” and deports them back to North Korea, where they face serious punishment by the North Korean government.
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• The US government estimates 20,000 children are kidnapped in China annually. Male children are typically targeted for kidnapping, due to Chinese cultural preference for sons, but increase in demand for children has led kidnappers to also prey on females. Most kidnapped children will never see their families again.
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• The Chinese Communist Party has vague policies regarding human trafficking, which results in inadequate protection for victims. There are no government services for trafficking survivors, and the CCP has prosecuted victims of trafficking on the charge of prostitution, even though they were abducted and forced into prostitution against their will.

There was a great op-ed in the Wall Street Journal yesterday arguing that China's Internet censorship amounts to protectionism. That China has been censorsing and even blocking Western media entirely seems unfair from a free trade standpoint (and even makes their attempts to infiltrate the global news media market seem a bit hypocritical). This WSJ editorial notes that when China joined the WTO China agreed to "give unlimited access and equal treatment to foreign-based or foreign owned business in ... online services." And there is even precedent: China recently lost an appeal to the WTO and is now being forced to allow foreign books, movies, and music to be distributed freely (although China has not yet complied with the ruling).

Perhaps China could, depending on interpretation, block media services that receive funding from foreign governments, like the BBC or NPR. But when it comes to for-profit sites such as Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter, all of which have been totally blocked in China for months now, there is no good economic argument to allow for the blocked access. China has the largest population of Internet users in the world, and these companies are being denied access by the Chinese government to what should be one of their greatest opportunities. This drives home the point that the choice between economic and political freedom that China has tried to make is simply impossible in a global economy that is based more and more on information rather than physical goods. China's restrictions on speech, particularly online, is directly causing companies based outside of China to lose money (i.e. protectionism).  (Read more after the jump)