VZCZCXRO0292
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHSH #0036/01 0801014
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 201014Z MAR 08
FM AMCONSUL SHENYANG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8370
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0096
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC 0801
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC 0258
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0535

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SHENYANG 000036 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/CM, DRL, G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2018 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ELAB GTIP KCRM ECON CH
SUBJECT: "SLAVE LABOR" SCANDAL HITS CHINA AGAIN: 33 FORCED 
LABORERS DISCOVERED IN HEILONGJIANG 
 
Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL STEPHEN B. WICKMAN. 
REASONS: 1.4(b)/(d). 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Authorities in Heilongjiang Province 
announced yesterday that they discovered 33 migrant "slave 
laborers" held captive and coerced to work--some for as 
long as three years--in a suburb of the provincial capital. 
Initial reports claim the captors "systematically" targeted 
vulnerable migrant workers, many mentally disabled, and 
subjugated them through violence.  This is not the first 
"slave labor" scandal to hit Harbin; police late last year 
freed another six migrant workers living under similar 
circumstances.  Chinese websites are displaying an interest 
in this latest, quickly-evolving story reminiscent of last 
year's larger-scale forced labor in the brick kilns of 
Shanxi Province.  END SUMMARY. 
 
"SLAVE LABOR" IN HARBIN: THE DETAILS THUS FAR 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) Authorities in Heilongjiang Province detained 
several individuals suspected of holding over 30 migrants 
captive, forcing them to work--some for as long as three 
years--in what preliminary Chinese media reports describe 
as "slave"-like conditions.  Official national and local 
media announced yesterday that police in the provincial 
capital of Harbin last week found 33 "slave laborers" 
confined in a squalid 30-square-meter room.  The discovery 
was made only after nearby residents found another captive 
laborer who had either fallen or jumped to his death from 
the window of the apartment building where the men were 
being held.  Many were either mentally disabled or of 
diminished capacity when found, according to reports; 
police told journalists most could not communicate their 
names, ages and other identifying information.  Initial 
reports claim the captors "systematically" targeted 
vulnerable migrant workers in transport stations throughout 
northeast China and, through false promises of employment, 
lured their victims to a suburb of Harbin where they were 
subsequently forced to work long hours at construction jobs 
without remuneration.  Attempted escapes met with severe 
beating, according to a Xinhua reporter who interviewed a 
migrant-turned-"guard" who himself had been seized by the 
group last year and was ultimately enlisted as a captor 
through promises of remuneration. 
 
¶2. (U) Details remain unclear, although the youngest 
laborer mentioned thus far is 20 years of age.  He and his 
fellow captives hailed not just from Heilongjiang but 
throughout the country, including Hebei, Inner Mongolia, 
Jilin and Sichuan.  Harbin authorities swiftly repatriated 
some of the migrant laborers to their home provinces, and 
announced that the government would help find employment 
for those who elect to remain in Harbin.  According to one 
online report, seven former captives who elected to stay 
already received jobs--at either a brick factory or a 
cattle farm--but Post has not been able to confirm this 
development.  Other reports suggest Civil Affairs officials 
in Harbin still have custody of several whose mental 
capacity precluded identity determination.  Police remain 
on the lookout for the captors' ringleader. 
 
NOT HEILONGJIANG'S FIRST SUCH SCANDAL 
------------------------------------- 
¶3. (U) This is not the first "slave labor" scandal to hit 
Harbin or, more precisely, Harbin's notorious Hulan 
District--the northern suburb where the workers were held. 
In November 2007, Harbin police freed six migrant workers 
lured by false employment prospects and coerced to work for 
eight months for just RMB 50 (USD 7), according to a report 
by the Heilongjiang Morning News later that month.  Police, 
who at the time claimed this was Harbin's first such case, 
found and arrested the ringleader only several months 
later. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Hulan District, formerly a rural county before 
administratively integrated into Harbin municipality, is 
well known among Heilongjiang residents as a haven for 
migrant workers.  Native Heilongjiang-ers informed Poloffs 
on previous occasions that it is perceived as a rough, 
"wild" area where police enforcement is poor.  Provincial 
residents describe Hulan as a magnet for criminals and 
unscrupulous characters from throughout the province 
seeking escape, employment or both. 
 
 
SHENYANG 00000036  002 OF 002 
 
 
GOVERNMENT, PRESS ACTIVITY THUS FAR 
----------------------------------- 
¶5. (C) Several Heilongjiang journalists familiar with the 
case generally confirmed the accuracy of the initial media 
reports, which they described as relatively thorough, and 
told us more articles will follow.  Post's attempts to 
privately contact WANG Li, the Harbin Vice Mayor 
responsible for the city's civil-affairs portfolio, were 
unsuccessful.  MA Haifeng (STRICTLY PROTECT), Vice Mayor 
Wang's secretary, told us early in the evening of March 20 
that Harbin's vice mayors in charge of labor and public 
security, respectively, were in the midst of a meeting to 
discuss the case. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Preliminary monitoring of online Chinese news 
websites, blogs and BBS boards revealed a number of sites-- 
everything from those of the official Xinhua News Agency to 
the Shanghai Federation of Labor Unions--taking an interest 
in this still-quickly-evolving story.  Most bloggers and 
smaller news outlets appear to be playing it safe, largely 
reposting the early reports on the case written by two 
Heilongjiang papers: the Shenghuo Bao (part of the official 
Heilongjiang Daily) and the Xinwan Bao (part the official 
Harbin Daily).  The most critical commentary thus far has 
come from MA Diming, a blogger (and occasional contributor 
to the official Xinhua), who criticized the local 
government's negligence in protecting the rights of migrant 
workers, calling for an investigation to determine 
accountability. 
WICKMAN