Hi Friends,
Having been impressed (I think with some justifications) with China’s economic progress, I am mildly surprised and disappointed with the discovery of slaves in China.
This is a serious setback for China’s attempt to be accepted as a respected member of the world community.
Even a successful Beijing Olympics 2008 would not help much in projecting China as a modern and progressive nation if she does not get her own house in order.
Corruption and collusion amongst its local authorities must have been rife for such blatant forms of slavery to be possible.
I am interested to see her corrective actions and what happens to these slave-owners and their corrupt friends.
A.Slavery in China
China 'will catch slave owners' (BBC News)
China has pledged to bring to justice traffickers who enslaved hundreds of children and adults to work in brick kilns in two provinces.
As it prepared to send investigators to Henan and Shanxi, the government said that all captives would be freed.
Some 550 people have been liberated in recent weeks and families believe up to 1,000 children were enslaved.
The story made national headlines after parents of some of them launched an internet campaign for their freedom.
Children thought to be as young as eight years old were kidnapped, held captive and forced to work long hours for no pay.
The case has revealed the dark side of China's booming economy with forced labour and human trafficking common in rural areas, the BBC's Dan Griffiths reports from Beijing.
'All-out' search
Responding to calls for action by President Hu Jintao and other senior top politicians, the labour and social security ministry vowed to send a team of investigators to the two provinces.
"The team will find out the truth as soon as possible, and we will go all out to rescue the workers who have been forced to work as slaves in the brick kilns," a deputy minister, Sun Baoshu, was quoted as saying by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
"The criminal offenders will be dealt with to safeguard the legal interests of the workers."
Thousands of police have been checking building sites in the two provinces and have made scores of arrests, Chinese media report.
Provincial authorities in Shanxi have also said they will punish officials for dereliction of duty unless all abused workers are freed within 10 days.
'Jail-like'
The wife of one kiln-owner arrested by police said that officials had previously done nothing about the kilns other than ask for money from her husband.
"The officials said that we were illegal and so they came for money but they didn't do any more than that," Zhang Mei told Reuters news agency in Hongtong, Shanxi.
She also blamed a Hongtong foreman, Heng Tinghan, who had allegedly found workers and controlled them directly and is now wanted by police.
"We really didn't know they weren't getting money," Mrs Zhang said.
State TV reports prison-like conditions in the kilns where slaves were controlled with beatings or fierce dogs.
Some young male workers were shown to have festering wounds on their feet and waists, possibly from being burnt by the kilns where they worked.
Many labourers were reportedly abducted off the streets of regional towns and sold on for as little as 500 yuan ($66, £33), the AFP news agency reports, quoting Chinese press.
B.Modern Slavery around the world
Most of us probably suspect that slavery still prevails in this day and age but we just want to block it out of our conscious thoughts.
It is an inconvenient truth.
Anyway, what can we do about it even if we know it exists?
Even Archbishop Desmond Tutu had the same problem as all of us when he said in Hull, UK, in 1999 ,
"Slavery...I didn't know about all these forms that existed. I think it's largely because wearen't expecting it. It is hidden.Generally people would not believe that it is possible under modern conditions. They would say 'No, I think youare making it all up', because it's just too incredible..."
Article 4, Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly probihits slavery. The article says:
"No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slaveryand the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."
As you and I know, it will be a long time before UN’s declarations are able to protect the helpless and vulnerable in remote areas of Africa and South America. If the national authorities in these regions are inept or in collusion with exploiters of human labour, these lofty UN legal documents are worth “squat” to these slaves.
They will continue to be beaten, abused and killed, mostly without the knowledge of anyone else.
God is their only witness.
Please go to Anti-slavery.org’s websites for more information on how humans continue with depraved acts and cruel behaviour despite so many thousand years of “so-called” civilization.
I will just highlight the section below ( from the website) and you can read the rest yourself.
What is modern slavery?
For many people, the image that comes to mind when they hear the word slavery is the slavery of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. We think of the buying and selling of people, their shipment from one continent to another and the abolition of the trade in the early 1800s. Even if we know nothing about the slave trade, it is something we think of as part of our history rather than our present. But the reality is slavery continues TODAY.
Millions of men, women and children around the world are forced to lead lives as slaves. Although this exploitation is often not called slavery, the conditions are the same. People are sold like objects, forced to work for little or no pay and are at the mercy of their 'employers'.
Slavery exists today despite the fact that it is banned in most of the countries where it is practised. It is also prohibited by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1956 UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery. Women from eastern Europe are bonded into prostitution, children are trafficked between West African countries and men are forced to work as slaves on Brazilian agricultural estates. Contemporary slavery takes various forms and affects people of all ages, sex and race.
What is slavery?
Common characteristics distinguish slavery from other human rights violations. A slave is:
forced to work -- through mental or physical threat;
owned or controlled by an 'employer', usually through mental or physical abuse or threatened abuse;
dehumanised, treated as a commodity or bought and sold as 'property';
physically constrained or has restrictions placed on his/her freedom of movement.
What types of slavery exist today?
Bonded labour: affects millions of people around the world. People become bonded labourers by taking or being tricked into taking a loan for as little as the cost of medicine for a sick child. To repay the debt, many are forced to work long hours, seven days a week, up to 365 days a year. They receive basic food and shelter as 'payment' for their work, but may never pay off the loan, which can be passed down for generations.
Early and forced marriage: affects women and girls who are married without choice and are forced into lives of servitude often accompanied by physical violence.
Forced labour: affects people who are illegally recruited by individuals, governments or political parties and forced to work -- usually under threat of violence or other penalties.
Slavery by descent: is where people are either born into a slave class or are from a 'group' that society views as suited to being used as slave labour.
Trafficking: involves the transport and/or trade of people -- women, children and men -- from one area to another for the purpose of forcing them into slavery conditions.
Worst forms of child labour: affects an estimated 126 million** children around the world in work that is harmful to their health and welfare.
Dr. Huang Shoou Chyuan
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Ex-NKF Director's Escape- A Parody of Justice
Dear Friends,
I have written the following letter to the MSM's forum pages. Let's see if it sees the light of day.
Author's note (7.6.07): It has been printed by TODAY. Let's see if the ST will print it too.
Dear Editor,
Ex-NKF director’s escape from justice
The public must surely be justified in being extremely disappointed at how a high profile person like the ex-NKF director, Richard Yong, was allowed to escape the grasp of justice.
Did the Official Assignees’ (OA) Office not smell a “fish” when Mr. Yong sold his three properties in February?
Selling houses, even in Singapore’s red-hot property market, is unlike selling a pair of shoes, it takes time and various government bodies are involved. It is difficult to imagine how no red flags were raised during the process.
Or perhaps the Office thought he was merely liquidating his assets in order to pay his creditors in the impending bankruptcy and hence a nonchalant approach was called for?
Whatever reasons the relevant authorities have to offer, may seem a moot point now as the horse has already bolted. But nevertheless, we would still like to hear them and we would also insist on assurances that our civil servants take their jobs and obligations to the people seriously.
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
(end of letter)
Of course the subject matter is the infamous Richard Yong who was the director/chairman and erstwhile pal of Mr. T.T. Durai of the now unforgettable NKF Saga.
The Saga that is the mother of all Sagas, the one that takes the cake, the one that was supposed to teach lessons how not to kick your own b#lls bacause it can HURT! Unfortunately the NKF saga has become a recurring nightmare- a deja vu experience.
The only difference is that the nightmares come with different names- UNSW/World Bank-IMF meeting/Suzhou/Shin Corp/Virgin Atlantic etc.
All of us willingly or otherwise are caught up in this complicated web in which our tax dollars are used not just to pay expensive cabinet ministers' salaries but also squandered away by government agencies who do not admit responsibility after each and every screw-up!
Sigh!
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
Read the episode of the "Scarlet Pimpernel" below!
Tuesday June 5, 4:17 PM Channelnewsasia
Ex-NKF chairman fled just before ICA could blacklist him
It was only a matter of hours, but it was enough for Richard Yong to slip out of the grasp of the authorities and the National Kidney Foundation.
Three weeks after, the missing blanks in the former NKF chairman’s apparent escape from the country are now being filled in.
The Official Assignee’s (OA) office, which is responsible for the affairs of bankrupts, told TODAY it had “immediately informed” the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to blacklist Yong on the morning of May 17, the day after he was declared a bankrupt.
But the OA learnt the next day that it was too late. The ICA confirmed that Yong had left Singapore “just after midnight, in the early hours of May 17”. Investigations are now underway.
The getaway was a culmination of a series of events.
First, Yong had begun to cash in on his three properties in February, when he admitted liability for damages in the NKF’s civil suit. When he moved house, he did not report his new address to the authorities.
When news of these developments surfaced, the bankruptcy application against Yong was brought forward a month. Filed on April 27, a copy went to the OA, as did a copy of the May 16 date for the hearing, and a copy of the court’s declaration of bankruptcy — as per the usual process. A Mareva injunction to freeze Yong’s assets was filed on May 9.
The OA’s office told TODAY it was first informed by the NKF’s lawyers that Yong had been made a bankrupt and could be “a flight risk” on the morning of May 17. “The passports of new bankrupts are generally not impounded or confiscated by the OA. However, if there is hard evidence that the bankrupt has previously travelled or has attempted to travel without permission, his passport may be confiscated,” said a spokesman.
Attempts were made on May 17 and the next morning to personally serve the First Notice on Yong at his residence. But with Yong already gone, the OA launched investigations into offences he may have committed, such as unauthorised travel and disposal of assets.
Yong now has until June 12 to submit his Statement of Affairs. If not, the OA may apply for a warrant of arrest.
TODAY understands that Yong’s two daughters are in the United Kingdom. He was last seen on May 21 in Kuala Lumpur. “We do not have precise information on Mr Yong’s current whereabouts. To date he remains uncontactable,” said the OA spokesman. - /fa
I have written the following letter to the MSM's forum pages. Let's see if it sees the light of day.
Author's note (7.6.07): It has been printed by TODAY. Let's see if the ST will print it too.
Dear Editor,
Ex-NKF director’s escape from justice
The public must surely be justified in being extremely disappointed at how a high profile person like the ex-NKF director, Richard Yong, was allowed to escape the grasp of justice.
Did the Official Assignees’ (OA) Office not smell a “fish” when Mr. Yong sold his three properties in February?
Selling houses, even in Singapore’s red-hot property market, is unlike selling a pair of shoes, it takes time and various government bodies are involved. It is difficult to imagine how no red flags were raised during the process.
Or perhaps the Office thought he was merely liquidating his assets in order to pay his creditors in the impending bankruptcy and hence a nonchalant approach was called for?
Whatever reasons the relevant authorities have to offer, may seem a moot point now as the horse has already bolted. But nevertheless, we would still like to hear them and we would also insist on assurances that our civil servants take their jobs and obligations to the people seriously.
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
(end of letter)
Of course the subject matter is the infamous Richard Yong who was the director/chairman and erstwhile pal of Mr. T.T. Durai of the now unforgettable NKF Saga.
The Saga that is the mother of all Sagas, the one that takes the cake, the one that was supposed to teach lessons how not to kick your own b#lls bacause it can HURT! Unfortunately the NKF saga has become a recurring nightmare- a deja vu experience.
The only difference is that the nightmares come with different names- UNSW/World Bank-IMF meeting/Suzhou/Shin Corp/Virgin Atlantic etc.
All of us willingly or otherwise are caught up in this complicated web in which our tax dollars are used not just to pay expensive cabinet ministers' salaries but also squandered away by government agencies who do not admit responsibility after each and every screw-up!
Sigh!
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
Read the episode of the "Scarlet Pimpernel" below!
Tuesday June 5, 4:17 PM Channelnewsasia
Ex-NKF chairman fled just before ICA could blacklist him
It was only a matter of hours, but it was enough for Richard Yong to slip out of the grasp of the authorities and the National Kidney Foundation.
Three weeks after, the missing blanks in the former NKF chairman’s apparent escape from the country are now being filled in.
The Official Assignee’s (OA) office, which is responsible for the affairs of bankrupts, told TODAY it had “immediately informed” the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to blacklist Yong on the morning of May 17, the day after he was declared a bankrupt.
But the OA learnt the next day that it was too late. The ICA confirmed that Yong had left Singapore “just after midnight, in the early hours of May 17”. Investigations are now underway.
The getaway was a culmination of a series of events.
First, Yong had begun to cash in on his three properties in February, when he admitted liability for damages in the NKF’s civil suit. When he moved house, he did not report his new address to the authorities.
When news of these developments surfaced, the bankruptcy application against Yong was brought forward a month. Filed on April 27, a copy went to the OA, as did a copy of the May 16 date for the hearing, and a copy of the court’s declaration of bankruptcy — as per the usual process. A Mareva injunction to freeze Yong’s assets was filed on May 9.
The OA’s office told TODAY it was first informed by the NKF’s lawyers that Yong had been made a bankrupt and could be “a flight risk” on the morning of May 17. “The passports of new bankrupts are generally not impounded or confiscated by the OA. However, if there is hard evidence that the bankrupt has previously travelled or has attempted to travel without permission, his passport may be confiscated,” said a spokesman.
Attempts were made on May 17 and the next morning to personally serve the First Notice on Yong at his residence. But with Yong already gone, the OA launched investigations into offences he may have committed, such as unauthorised travel and disposal of assets.
Yong now has until June 12 to submit his Statement of Affairs. If not, the OA may apply for a warrant of arrest.
TODAY understands that Yong’s two daughters are in the United Kingdom. He was last seen on May 21 in Kuala Lumpur. “We do not have precise information on Mr Yong’s current whereabouts. To date he remains uncontactable,” said the OA spokesman. - /fa
Sunday, June 03, 2007
UNSW finally starting to do the right thing?
Hi Friends,
From the Australian media, UNSW has apparently come out with a substantially improved package for those UNSW Asia campus students who had fallen victim due to UNSW's poor management decision and its subsequent flip-flop.
UNSW may finally be taking the correct steps to right a wrong.
I do not think my comments to UNSW ( which I wrote to UNSW or someone close to it) had anything to do with this turnaround?
I said ( in comments in my blog),
“It is a moot point but this wouldn’t have been necessary if UNSW had not pulled the plug.
I am sure famous case studies like the "New Coke" market failure and how Johnson & Johnson dealt with the aftermath of the Tylenol poisoning episode showed all of us how to behave in a damage control situation.
Those students are victims- overwhelm them with “goodies” so that UNSW would come out of this smelling of roses. How many students are there?- 143 plus foundation students and UNSW seems tardy and reluctant to assist them unreservedly. Why split hairs about non-Singaporeans and Singaporeans? Think about the goodwill gained if they get more than they asked for! Anyway it is a once off and UNSW is unlikely to do any silly things like this in Prof's lifetime right?”
End of quote
Now UNSW would not be labeled as being “Penny Wise-Pound Foolish” and these latest steps may go some way in repairing its damaged reputation.
So, is the EDB going to come clean too? Damage control lessons like the J&J case also applies for Singapore Government agencies.
Cheers
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
The article
UNSW to assist Singapore campus students
The Age June 2
The University of NSW will pay students up to $85,000 to study in Sydney after the collapse of its Singapore campus.
Up to 148 students who enrolled at the campus will have their travel, visa and accommodation costs in Sydney covered by the university until the end of their degrees, with students to receive as much as $85,000 each.
The university will compensate a further 126 students with return airfares to Australia and a year's housing after the collapse of the Tanglin campus, which may end up costing the university more than $40 million in lost revenue, compensation and redundancies, Fairfax reports on Saturday.
The university had anticipated first semester enrolments of 300 and the shortfall was expected to cost $15 million in revenue.
UNSW Vice-Chancellor Fred Hilmer said the university had spent $17.5 million on the campus before it opened.
An Australian academic, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Fairfax many professors had given up senior positions to move to Singapore.
He said the reputation of UNSW and other Australian universities had been damaged by the collapse.
"UNSW has killed off any hope of ever marketing itself as an international university, certainly in our lifetime," he said.
"It has been a monumental mismanagement."
UNSW student representative council president Jesse Young said it was a disappointing waste of taxpayers money that could have been spent on the Sydney campus.
A team of people from the university have flown to Singapore to help students with visas.
© 2007 AAP
From the Australian media, UNSW has apparently come out with a substantially improved package for those UNSW Asia campus students who had fallen victim due to UNSW's poor management decision and its subsequent flip-flop.
UNSW may finally be taking the correct steps to right a wrong.
I do not think my comments to UNSW ( which I wrote to UNSW or someone close to it) had anything to do with this turnaround?
I said ( in comments in my blog),
“It is a moot point but this wouldn’t have been necessary if UNSW had not pulled the plug.
I am sure famous case studies like the "New Coke" market failure and how Johnson & Johnson dealt with the aftermath of the Tylenol poisoning episode showed all of us how to behave in a damage control situation.
Those students are victims- overwhelm them with “goodies” so that UNSW would come out of this smelling of roses. How many students are there?- 143 plus foundation students and UNSW seems tardy and reluctant to assist them unreservedly. Why split hairs about non-Singaporeans and Singaporeans? Think about the goodwill gained if they get more than they asked for! Anyway it is a once off and UNSW is unlikely to do any silly things like this in Prof's lifetime right?”
End of quote
Now UNSW would not be labeled as being “Penny Wise-Pound Foolish” and these latest steps may go some way in repairing its damaged reputation.
So, is the EDB going to come clean too? Damage control lessons like the J&J case also applies for Singapore Government agencies.
Cheers
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
The article
UNSW to assist Singapore campus students
The Age June 2
The University of NSW will pay students up to $85,000 to study in Sydney after the collapse of its Singapore campus.
Up to 148 students who enrolled at the campus will have their travel, visa and accommodation costs in Sydney covered by the university until the end of their degrees, with students to receive as much as $85,000 each.
The university will compensate a further 126 students with return airfares to Australia and a year's housing after the collapse of the Tanglin campus, which may end up costing the university more than $40 million in lost revenue, compensation and redundancies, Fairfax reports on Saturday.
The university had anticipated first semester enrolments of 300 and the shortfall was expected to cost $15 million in revenue.
UNSW Vice-Chancellor Fred Hilmer said the university had spent $17.5 million on the campus before it opened.
An Australian academic, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Fairfax many professors had given up senior positions to move to Singapore.
He said the reputation of UNSW and other Australian universities had been damaged by the collapse.
"UNSW has killed off any hope of ever marketing itself as an international university, certainly in our lifetime," he said.
"It has been a monumental mismanagement."
UNSW student representative council president Jesse Young said it was a disappointing waste of taxpayers money that could have been spent on the Sydney campus.
A team of people from the university have flown to Singapore to help students with visas.
© 2007 AAP
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