Earlier this month, a group of distraught parents stormed the kilns trying desperately to rescue their children, only to meet stiff resistance from the usual suspects–thugs hired by the kiln owners with support from corrupt local officials.

Frustrated and frantic, the parents went online, writing an open letter and posting it on Dahe. Eventually the letter ended up on the popular Chinese website Tianya and the subsequent internet frenzy forced the government’s hand. Police raided the kilns and freed the workers. As of this week, 168 people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Such was the outrage that even the normally Kool Aid-soaked editors of the China Daily felt compelled ]]> Last week Chinese authorities rescued 500 people–many of them children–from brick factories in Shanxi. The workers had been sold to these kilns by unscrupulous labor agencies and then kept there against their will as slaves, working 18 hours a day under the constant threat of physical abuse. All the while, authorities in the province turned a blind eye to the goings-on at the kilns. (ESWN has translations of Chinese media reports on the incident. Some of the details differ from later accounts in the domestic and foreign press.)

Earlier this month, a group of distraught parents stormed the kilns trying desperately to rescue their children, only to meet stiff resistance from the usual suspects–thugs hired by the kiln owners with support from corrupt local officials.

Frustrated and frantic, the parents went online, writing an open letter and posting it on Dahe. Eventually the letter ended up on the popular Chinese website Tianya and the subsequent internet frenzy forced the government’s hand. Police raided the kilns and freed the workers. As of this week, 168 people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Such was the outrage that even the normally Kool Aid-soaked editors of the China Daily felt compelled to voice their own discontent.

Sort of.

Reading their op-ed piece carefully, one can still catch the not-so-faint whiffs of “Who? What? Us?” wafting from the print, like the riptide of odor seeping from behind the sanitized walls of a New-and-Improved hutong loo.

The forced labor scandal shows how backward parts of this giant country are despite rapid economic development.

Ah, I see. These are problems of poverty and lack of economic development. Really now, doctor? (Just finished watching Boogie Nights, sorry.) Shanxi is underdeveloped? That must be why WHOLE sections of Jianwai Soho are reportedly ernai villages stocked by the man-purse brigade who roll into town in their Shanxi-plated Audi A8s with wads of cash from their illegal coal mines and, it would appear, a little extra made on the side in the brickmaking business.

I’m tired of China blaming corruption on “poverty” or “lack of development.” Say it with me, people: Corruption in China is a systemic problem made worse because authorities are not responsible nor answerable to those they govern.

Even more galling than blaming it on “poverty” was the China Daily’s linking of the Shanxi horror with the recent wage disputes at foreign companies such as McDonald’s, KFC, and Wal-Mart. Now, I’m the last person to defend US corporate interests BUT…if the China Daily really sees these two events (the enslavement of children versus wage-hike disputes) in the same light then they’re either a) more stupid than even I could have imagined b) more cynical than anyone could have imagined c) somebody’s given them a fresh batch of Kool-Aid or d) all of the above.

On the flip side, the article in Time suggested that this sort of internet activism might mean a new chapter in civil society in China. Possibly. We’ve heard that before. And it’s worth quoting from Chris O’Brien’s recent article about yet another cover-up of yet another horrific situation: an epidemic of child sex abuse in Gansu.

O’Brien quotes a journalist who covered the story:

“This kind of thing is quite common in rural areas. People there are very uneducated.” He moved on to say how he didn’t want to exaggerate the story for the sake of the children who had suffered and that they should be allowed to forget. The final excuse was predictable and one I suspected was coming all along. “It would not be good for China’s image.”

Once again, we have the “people are poor” excuse which I guess some feel has a better chance of being printed than “Local officials are all wankers who only care about KTV, banquets, and the size of their, ahem, man purses.” Don’t even get me started on the “image” angle. Sounds like somebody in Gansu needs to call the Boston Archdiocese and ask them how well covering up sex abuse in the name of “image” has worked out for the Catholic Church.

I have a hard time believing that the Chinese government is in favor of slavery (despite the howls from the moonbat wing of the American Right). This was the act of greedy and immoral businessmen out to make a buck in today’s go-go China. That said, the system so beloved and protected by the CCP does provide cover for unscrupulous businessmen to act in concert with venal local officials. Grassroots pressure upwards against business or political interests is almost always treated roughly, and media scrutiny of this kind of corruption frequently meets with stonewall tactics or worse. The central government may not be to blame for this situation directly, but they should shoulder heavy responsibility for allowing it to fester for as long as it did.

Slavery is not a foreign concept to China. It existed throughout the imperial age. One set of documents we use in class are Ming Dynasty boilerplate contracts for the sale into bondage of a girl, a boy, and an ox. The ox contract is twice as long as either contract for the children. Slavery declined after the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723-1735) abolished the class of “mean people” (贱民)–an underclass of hereditary slaves, prostitutes, actors, etc. While not the “emancipation proclamation” that some historians make it out to be, it did grant equal legal status to all commoners regardless of birth. Nevertheless, the “coolie” (苦力) trade of the 19th century, for which workers were “shanghai’ed” to meet demand in both domestic and export labor markets, was just one notable example of how forced and indentured labor was by no means unknown in the later imperial periods. One of the more impressive achievements of the CCP in 1949 was a swift crackdown on all forms of servitude and slavery, though I suppose some would argue that one master was only exchanged for another.

Slavery in any form is an abomination. The enslavement of Africans in the early part of our history is one of the United States’ darkest hours. It was not a “peculiar institution,” it was a deliberate system of forced labor that came with an incalcuable human cost. Taking slaves–reducing a fellow human being to chattel–is beyond cruel, it is profoundly inhumane and serves as proof that evil exists in the hearts of men. But it has nothing to do with “underdevelopment.” It is about greed, and corruption, and a system that consistently fails to protect the weakest and most vulnerable members of society. The exposure and total abolition of forced labor should matter more to any responsible government than comparatively petty issues such as “national image” or “face.”
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Be sure to check out Bingfeng’s post on the online discussion of the Shanxi slavery case “How online communities respond to the slave labor scandal differently.”

The tone of the Asia Times report was not optimistic. It described the ASAT test as an unannounced and frankly provocative gesture, calling the move “strategic escalation.” Meanwhile, at the same time testimony over China’s non-compliance with WTO was being given at the meeting, trade representatives from the United States, Europe, and Canada were busy bringing China before the WTO over unfair duties on auto parts. Finally, in a statement given before the panel, long time China watcher Jim Mann sounded pessimistic over the prospects of China changing course significantly even over the long term. (See “Jim Mann: ‘What if China Doesn’t Change?“)

Paekdu 백두산, also spelled Baekdu, is known as Changbai Shan 长白山 in China and can be found in Chinese geographical texts dating back to the shanhai jing 山海經 “Classic of Seas and Mountains.” During the Qing, the Kangxi emperor designated the mountain as the birthplace of his clan, the Aisin Gioro, and annual rites were held at the mountain to celebrate the origins of the ruling dynasty.

Several Korean dynasties considered the mountain sacred including the Goguryeo (37 BCE – 668), and Balhae (698-926) both of whose origins were the subject of ]]> UPI reports: “Five South Korean female short track players raised signs reading, “Mount Paekdu is our (Korean) territory” during an awards ceremony Wednesday.” The incident is the latest in a series of back and forth sniping between China and Korea in a variety of media including competing op-ed pieces, ‘scholarly’ articles, and even teledramas over the historical status of the China-North Korea border. The South Korean skaters raised the signs as they received silver medals at the 2007 Winter Asian games being held this week in Changchun. The 2750 meter/9022 foot volcanic mountain has long been the center of border disputes between the Chinese and Korean governments.

Paekdu 백두산, also spelled Baekdu, is known as Changbai Shan 长白山 in China and can be found in Chinese geographical texts dating back to the shanhai jing 山海經 “Classic of Seas and Mountains.” During the Qing, the Kangxi emperor designated the mountain as the birthplace of his clan, the Aisin Gioro, and annual rites were held at the mountain to celebrate the origins of the ruling dynasty.

Several Korean dynasties considered the mountain sacred including the Goguryeo (37 BCE – 668), and Balhae (698-926) both of whose origins were the subject of controversy after a Chinese research project published a paper claiming that these two dynasties actually had “Chinese origins.”

Border agreements between China and Korea were signed in 1712, 1909, and again in 1962. Some in South Korea reject the latter two agreements as the 1909 agreement was negotiated by the Japanese occupiers of the peninsula and the latest one was signed by the DPRK with no input from Seoul. The unclear location of the boundary on the mountain has caused problems for visitors to the area. Hikers attracted to the sublime beauty of the mountain and its crater lake, Tian Chi, have been unwitting pawns in the ongoing dispute. In 1998 a British hiker was picked up by DPRK border guards on the wrong side of the line and spent a month in a North Korean jail. Not good times.

Needless to say, Chinese officials were less than thrilled with the actions of the Korean skaters and have lodged a formal protest with South Korean diplomatic and sports officials. ROK officials responded that the action was “an accidental happening and shouldn’t be interpreted politically.”

In an unrelated gaff, a Chinese tourism delegation to Zimbabwe was greeted at Harare Airport by banners and signs welcoming the delegates…in Korean. The African nation has been seeking to attract Chinese visitors and overcome concerns that Zimbabwe is poor and unsafe. A member of the Chinese delegation called the mistake, “embarrassing.”

“We have been trying to teach our own people to speak Chinese without much success,” said a Zimbabwe Tourism official. “We now fear using the wrong language, writing Korean when you think you are writing Chinese.”
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Top right: map of Korea-Chinese border showing the position of Mount Paekdu
Middle left: painting of the Changbai Shan from the Qing shi lu.
Bottom right: aerial photograph of Changbai Shan/Tian chi

Apparently, and this is from the not-too-creditable “customer service” representative at CT, all of China’s access to the Internet at large runs through Taiwan… man was that some shitty planning – and a helluva chip the ROC can play should things get nasty between the two siblings.

PRC: “Um, we’d really like you to come back and be a part of your motherland.” ROC: “But we believe in a multi-party system and don’t like to spit.” PRC: “Fine, have it your way. We’re going to attack you tomorrow.” ROC: “If you do, you’ll only be able to access Mainland-produced porn.” PRC: “Please disregard, have a nice day.”

Funny stuff out of Jiangsu province.

But yesterday on CDT, I read a Financial Times piece on Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian’s plans to “freeze” the current ROC constitution and adopt a new one.

Mr Chen’s comments indicate he could adopt a more audacious course in strengthening Taiwan’s separation from China before he steps down, an approach which would unsettle cross-Strait relations after more than two years of relative quiet.

Mr Chen triggered warnings from China and the US in late 2003 and again in early 2004 when he first proposed a new constitution and pushed for Taiwan’s first island-wide referendum.

His remarks appear designed to regain support among Taiwanese nationalist voters, a group his ruling party badly needs to win over before a series of forthcoming elections.

As the article notes, the original constitution was written in the wake of World War II while the KMT was still on the mainland. For example, the current version is not ]]> I’ve tried to stay out of the fray on the current political dispute in Taiwan. First, I’ve never been there. Second, there are bloggers out there far more in touch with the state of affairs in Taipei than I am.

But yesterday on CDT, I read a Financial Times piece on Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian’s plans to “freeze” the current ROC constitution and adopt a new one.

Mr Chen’s comments indicate he could adopt a more audacious course in strengthening Taiwan’s separation from China before he steps down, an approach which would unsettle cross-Strait relations after more than two years of relative quiet.

Mr Chen triggered warnings from China and the US in late 2003 and again in early 2004 when he first proposed a new constitution and pushed for Taiwan’s first island-wide referendum.

His remarks appear designed to regain support among Taiwanese nationalist voters, a group his ruling party badly needs to win over before a series of forthcoming elections.

As the article notes, the original constitution was written in the wake of World War II while the KMT was still on the mainland. For example, the current version is not clear how the “national territory” is defined or where the boundaries of that territory might be, though a common assumption is that it refers to all the territories under Qing control at the time of the 1911 revolution.

Changing the constitution to refer specifically to the borders of Taiwan would signal a major shift in the consitutional definition of the Republic of China and a clear signal of Taiwan’s intentions to separate itself from any larger (or PRC) definition of “Greater China.”

I thought this an oddly provocative move until I saw this morning’s NYT. First came the news that Chen’s wife, Wu Shu-chen, would be indicted on a variety of charges including embezzlement, forgery, and perjury. But as Michael Turton sagely predicted, that was just the warm-up:

Prosecutors said Friday they have enough evidence to indict Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian on corruption charges in connection with his handling of a secret diplomatic fund, increasing the pressure on him to resign.

There is a strong possibility that Chen will be indicted after he leaves office, said Chang Wen-cheng of the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office. Under Taiwanese law a sitting president cannot be indicted other than on charges of sedition.

The announcement came after a monthslong investigation into the presidential office’s handling of the fund, which is used to sustain diplomatic efforts abroad.

I am aware that Michael has strong views on these issues, but I have to say that when I want to get a fix on the situation on the ground in Taiwan, his blog is the first place I go.

For myself, I try to stay objective on the Taiwan issue. Part of it is not being as familiar with the situation on the island. A large part of it is not wanting to sleep on the sofa for a week. (YJ has her own strong views on the subject.) That said, I personally don’t think that Chen Shui-bian is some insane fanatic who wants to carve off Taiwan from the mainland and make it a western suburb of Honolulu or Tokyo, nor do I think that the KMT is ready to grab power and simply hand over the keys to the Presidential Palace executive squatter to Hu Jintao and the PLA.

If Chen is corrupt (ahem) then so be it: indict him, try him, and force him to resign. If this is a KMT ploy to shake up the power structure on Taiwan, then shame on them.

But the current spats between blue, green, and all the other colors of the Taipei rainbow connection remind me of the chengyu 鷸蚌相爭 (yu bang xiang zheng). In the old story, a bird and a clam got into a fight (over the clam’s decision to not be dinner) and the bird’s beak became stuck in the clam’s shell. Neither would give and then a fisherman came along, saw the two stuck together and bagged them both.

Don’t be those guys.
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Cross posted at The Peking Duck