Thursday

28th Sep 2023

EU considers ban on Chinese labour-camp goods

  • Renowned Chinese dissident, Harry Wu, has opened the Laogai Museum in Washington (Photo: dbking)

Under pressure from MEPs, the European Commission has hinted it is prepared to ban the importation of Chinese goods manufactured in forced labour camps.

Speaking during a debate in Strasbourg on Thursday (23 September), a number of euro-deputies claimed products produced in the government-sponsored camps were being sold across the EU to unsuspecting citizens.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

German centre-right MEP Daniel Caspary branded the Chinese products "blood-spattered goods", and called on the commission to put an end to their inflow.

EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele however said that the commission had raised the issue repeatedly in the past and was applying pressure through diplomatic channels.

"The commission fully agrees with the European Parliament that the Laogai [camp] system is completely incompatible with universally accepted concepts of human rights," said Mr Fuele.

He added that it was very difficult to verify which goods were being made in the camps - known as Laogai – of which China is thought to have roughly 500.

The majority of inmates in the labour camps are petty criminals who have been arrested and forced to work under reportedly terrible conditions.

Beijing still uses the camps to house political prisoners however, hidden amongst the drug addicts, street hawkers, prostitutes and pickpockets. Imprisonment is for up to four years.

With Thursday's debate coming just weeks before an EU-China summit in Brussels, Mr Fuele said that the EU preferred a policy of "positive dialogue" to an outright ban, but hinted that things could change.

"We have to acknowledge that there are limits to this approach which, so far, has not produced any notable change in Chinese policy," he told MEPs.

"The commission is open to considering a horizontal measure banning the import of goods produced using prison labour in violation of fundamental human rights," he added.

Privately, EU officials say WTO rules need to be taken into account but concede that the issue of a potential ban is being examined.

Other countries have already opted for a ban.

"Over the last 10-15 years there have been sufficiently valid concerns that a number of states have adopted strict policies against the goods," Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch International's Asian advocacy director, told this website.

One such country is the US, while influential Chinese scholars have themselves occasionally called for a closure of the camps that house roughly 400,000 prisoners according to the China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong NGO.

In July, Yu Jianrong, a liberal legal scholar and a key advisor to the Chinese government said China needed to "advance with the times" and close the camps.

EU’s €500m gender violence plan falls short, say auditors

The 'Spotlight Initiative' was launched in 2017 with a budget of €500 million to end all forms of violence or harmful practices against women and girls in partner countries, but so far it has had "little impact", say EU auditors.

Latest News

  1. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border
  2. EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making
  3. How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?
  4. Resurgent Fico hopes for Slovak comeback at Saturday's election
  5. EU and US urge Azerbijan to allow aid access to Armenians
  6. EU warns of Russian 'mass manipulation' as elections loom
  7. Blocking minority of EU states risks derailing asylum overhaul
  8. Will Poles vote for the end of democracy?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us