Special Forum Entitled 'Slavery Economy in China’s Labour Camps' is Held in Geneva

The 60th UN Human Rights Commission is taking place in Geneva at the moment. A joint action organisation, consisting of international and Swiss NGOs, is seeking to carry China to a real democracy. The organisation's first special forum was held at “Family Society” in Geneva: "The Slave Economy in China's Labour Camps". Many Falun Gong practitioners who suffered from the persecution have been invited to this forum. They talked about their personal experiences to expose the cruel persecution and crimes of slavery against Falun Gong practitioners in China’s labour camps.

Mr. Zhao Zhangji from America, who is the chairman of the World Organisation to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, gave a general investigative account of how the Chinese labour camps persecute and enslave Falun Gong practitioners. He indicated that in China, there are over 1000 labour camps just like the Soviet Gulag concentration camps and Nazi concentration camps. They detain about six million eight hundred thousand people, including over one hundred thousand Falun Gong practitioners. These people have become free labour. They have been forced to work overtime to produce various products such as wigs, jewellery, toys, rubber balls, clothing, hygiene chopsticks etc. These are established on the basis of large scale unacceptable working conditions, violations of human rights and by going against international labour organisation conventions.

The immunity specialist Feng Lili from Texas and artist Zhang Cuiying from Australia introduced their personal experiences of persecution and slavery in the labour camps. Feng Lili said that she has been forced to do slave labour at Guangdong labour camp making metal brushes. The brushes' steel wire is also a tool for cruel torture. The evil police always use them to stab those who are slow in production speed. Zhang Cuiying also revealed how in 2002 she was detained for eight months in a labour camp because she appealed for Falun Gong in China. Apart from suffering cruel torture, she was forced to slave for over ten hours every day to produce, for example, strings of coloured lights for export to Hong Kong etc. Hygiene was terrible. Many re-education victims had various kinds of infectious diseases and skin diseases. They are forced to pack toothpicks and chopsticks. She said it really made people feel sick to think about this.

The famous human rights solicitor Mr Chris Nyst from Australia focused his talk on how to use the law to uphold human rights, stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and end the slavery in China’s labour camps.

The chairman of Geneva's “Family Society” Mr. De Battista said in his speech, "This slavery economy in labour camps was established and based on the violation of human rights. It came down in torrents into the market places with non-comparative prices, threatening other people’s businesses and working opportunities." Mr. De Battista hoped that the Swiss Government, as well as businesses, can understand the dangers that come from slavery and ignoring moral standards. He indicated that he will restart the two motions that he raised while he acted as the assembly man of the Socialist Party of Geneva. These projects were especially requested by the federation committee. They also request that we should not import any products if China does not follow the international standards of production conditions and international conventions.