Forced laborers sneak messages into exported consumer goods
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| By: Peter HumphreyMessages believed to be from China’s extensive gulag are being found in pregnancy tests and personal items such as Covid-19 face masks for sale in Paris, Rome, London, and other cities, an indication that the items are being made or packaged via forced labor by prisoners including political prisoners, according to a documentary directed by filmmaker Laetitia Moreau which is to be released officially on the Arte TV channel. Prison slaves are thought to have sneaked many such messages into consumer products but most never resurface and those that do often take months or years before they are found. The makers of “Forced Labor – SOS from a Chinese Prisoner” say they have uncovered messages hidden in goods and have dug deeply into allegations of the practice through two years of research and interviews with former prisoners of China on four continents. “Before you enjoy life, you should know this product was made by Chinese prisoners in Tianjin who work 12-15 hours a day,” began a prisoner in a full-page letter concealed in a pregnancy test kit sold in Paris. The letter was handwritten in Chinese on lined prison notepaper, on the back of which the letters SOS were faintly written. The author urged the finder to appeal to international human rights organizations to condemn the Chinese Communist Party. The letter was unsigned but it claimed to be sent from “Tianjin Prison China”. The author writes that signing the letter, will endanger his/her life. The film’s investigation team has identified the prison and its associated factory complex…
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