China denies forced labour claims after plea found in Christmas card

(ST) – China on Monday (Dec 23) denied allegations that prisoners were being used for forced labour, after a British newspaper reported that a London schoolgirl found a message in a Christmas card claiming to be from inmates at Shanghai’s Qingpu Prison.

Supermarket giant Tesco said at the weekend it had stopped production at a factory in China after one of its charity cards was found to contain a cry for help from a prisoner who made it, according to the Sunday Times newspaper.

But Beijing rebuffed the claims, which it said were “made up”.

“I can tell you responsibly that, after seeking clarification from relevant departments, Shanghai Qingpu prison does not at all have … forced labour by foreign convicts,” said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

Mr Geng also attacked former journalist Peter Humphrey who wrote the article – who was himself detained in Qinqpu prison until his release in 2015 – and said he had invented a “farce” to “hype himself up”.

The note written in the card asked the person who found it to contact Mr Humphrey, which the schoolgirl’s father did. Mr Humphrey then took the story to the Sunday Times.

“We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qingpu Prison China,” said the message, in a charity card featuring a kitten in a Santa hat “Forced to work against our will. Please help us and notify human rights organisation.”

Mr Humphrey wrote in the Sunday Times that he was jailed on “bogus charges that were never heard in court”, and said the note-writers were certainly “Qingpu prisoners who knew me before my release.”

Contacted by AFP for his response, Mr Humphrey – who is now based in Britain – said: “It’s the kind of answer they have given to every allegation of human rights abuses that is ever mentioned.

“This is really completely to be expected, because nothing except lies ever comes back to the world when any such issue arises,” he said.

International companies are coming under mounting pressure to ensure their business in China does not involve any abuse of human rights.

Tesco – which is Britain’s largest retailer and the world’s third-biggest supermarket chain – said Sunday it “would never allow (prison labour) in our supply chain.”

A girl said she found a plea for help in her Christmas card. The seller is investigating