Creation: Political Economy Group of the Proletarian Liberation Struggle Association
This May, a brick factory in Linxiang City, Yueyang, Hunan Province, China, was exposed for forcing people with intellectual disabilities to work. According to investigations by “Civilian Abduction Busters” Shangguan Zhengyi and related journalists, this brick factory named “Linxian Yanfei Building Materials Co., Ltd.” imprisoned and forced several workers with intellectual disabilities to labor. The contractors of this black brick factory strongly prevented journalists from investigating, only allowing them to film the work scenes and forbidding them from talking to the workers. When asked where these workers came from and whether they had intellectual issues, the contractors were evasive, claiming these workers came from “the border area of Yunnan and Guizhou,” vehemently denying any intellectual problems, saying “they’re not mentally disabled, just a bit simple, can’t speak Mandarin.” During the lunch break when workers changed shifts, the journalists returned to the brick factory and successfully communicated with several workers present. During the interaction, the journalists noticed that two workers had obvious deficiencies in speech and expression; both had torn clothes and occasionally giggled foolishly. The working conditions of these workers were extremely harsh: the dust from the brick-making conveyor line was intense, and the environment was exceedingly hot. Yet, the black brick factory provided no protective measures for them—no high-temperature or dust-proof gear, and workers even picked up hot bricks from the kiln with bare hands shortly after they were fired. Under such brutal conditions, these workers were forced to work 12 hours a day, year-round, without rest. Factory staff claimed these workers were outsourced, led by a foreman, divided into groups of seven, working 12 hours per shift, with shift changes at noon. The factory claimed to pay workers 300 yuan per day.
After collecting evidence, the journalists decided to report the case to the local police station. With conclusive evidence, the police quickly took these disabled workers away. When asked about the source of these intellectually disabled workers, the driver who was supposed to change shifts arrogantly claimed they were “picked up roadside.” During interactions with these workers at the police station, it was further revealed that the previous claims by the black brick factory were lies. One worker, appearing weathered and around 40 years old, claimed he was only 13. They stammered and seemed to have severe intellectual disabilities. Clearly, they had no ability to manage their own income, and none of these workers could contact their families. When asked about their wages, one worker said, “No money, just food.” The “food” consisted of porridge with salted vegetables for breakfast and dinner, and plain, oil-free meals for lunch, with no meat. These workers were also denied basic human respect: when they fell ill, foremen cursed at them; even if they could barely move and had to stay in bed, they were not taken to the hospital. Regardless of their illnesses, the factory only provided “painkillers”—one or two pills, which were often ineffective, and the foremen forced them to take these drugs regardless of their condition. It is obvious that the relationship between these intellectually disabled workers and the capitalists of the black brick factory is not the typical employer-employee relationship under capitalism. The capitalists provided no wages, only barely enough living supplies; workers had no right to end their labor relations and completely lost personal freedom. These intellectually disabled workers had become slaves of the capitalists, unconditionally at their command—an enslaved labor force that should have been swept into the dustbin of history two thousand years ago!
Once exposed, this incident immediately aroused great public outrage. Online, public opinion surged, demanding swift punishment of the heartless capitalists behind the black brick factory. The police, aiming to quell public anger quickly, hurriedly arrested the capitalist Liu Yanfei and issued a statement claiming “the case is under investigation” to appease the public. Meanwhile, officials from the Linxiang City Disabled Persons’ Federation and the Labor Security Supervision Brigade hypocritically announced that they were “dispatching personnel to investigate all brick factories in the city to confirm whether similar situations exist,” pretending to show an attitude of “preventing such incidents from happening again.”
Such human tragedies are hard not to recall the 2007 Shanxi black coal mine case. In 2007, some democratically inclined journalists exposed a brutal case of human trafficking and forced labor. At that time, local brick kiln mine owners in Shanxi bought large numbers of migrant workers lured with “high wages” from human traffickers, including many child laborers, imprisoning them at kiln sites and forcing them to perform extremely strenuous physical labor, often subjecting them to violence, resulting in many workers being maimed or killed. The workers’ plight was no different from that of slaves. Yet, after eighteen years, such incidents still occur on the land of Zhongxiu. Is this black brick factory’s exploitation of workers with intellectual disabilities accidental? Clearly not. As comments under a news article pointed out, “Ten years later, they were only rescued after the police reported it; does the police station not know? Does the safety supervision bureau not know? Does the environmental protection bureau not know?” If we just investigate Liu Yanfei, the capitalist behind this brick factory, we find that he does not operate only one brick factory locally—he also runs Yueyang Rushi Environmental Building Materials Co., Ltd., Yueyang Huaxin Cleaning Service Co., Ltd., Yueyang Yunxi District Huaxin Shale Brick Factory, and others, totaling nine companies involved in building materials, cleaning, and waste removal. He also holds a 30% stake in Linxiang Xiangfei Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. This heartless capitalist is a notorious local tyrant, and the local government is complicit, having accepted countless blood-stained bribes, allowing him to enslave intellectually disabled workers for years. If it weren’t for this exposure and public outrage, the local authorities would never have dared to touch this black-hearted capitalist, and these disabled workers would likely never be rescued in their lifetime. Even under public pressure, if Liu Yanfei were arrested, would he face proper punishment? The 2007 Shanxi black coal mine case saw countless migrant workers, children, and intellectually disabled persons forever trapped in mines, yet only the foreman Zhao Yanbing, who beat workers to death, was sentenced to death. The real capitalists responsible for countless deaths received at most prison sentences or fines. The same pattern will likely repeat: this heartless capitalist who enslaves workers with intellectual disabilities will never face the punishment he deserves in a barbaric fascist state like Zhongxiu.
The endless “black coal mines” and “black brick kilns” are not merely due to a few capitalists “violating morals.” As long as the fascist dictatorship of the bureaucratic bourgeoisie in Zhongxiu persists, “official-business collusion” will continue to exist, and incidents of heartless capitalists colluding with government officials to traffick, enslave, and exploit intellectually disabled workers will keep recurring. Individual journalists’ investigations and exposures can never eliminate such human tragedies. The only solution is to overthrow the entire Zhongxiu capitalist society through the struggle of the proletariat. Only then can these disabled individuals truly receive the treatment they deserve, and these tragedies can be forever consigned to history.
