A Note from a Chinese Prisoner ended up in a Walmart Purse

Imagine that in prison you work a job for 20 cents an hour. This is the going rate labor for US prisons and it’s even lower in Chinese Prisons. Today we investigate one such Chinese prison and the story of 

How a Note From A Chinese Prisoner Ended Up In A Walmart Purse.

Walmart - If you’re like most Americans, then at one point or another you’ve shopped here. It is, after all, the world’s largest retailer. Though obviously well-known, Walmart has had their share of good and bad publicity. It has been accused multiple times of supporting forced labor and of incorrectly labeling its merchandise made in other locations as having been produced locally.

It all began in March of 2017. A few months prior Christel Wallace, a resident of Arizona had purchased a maroon purse with shiny accented detailing from a local Walmart. However, it wasn’t until March when she finally opened up a pocket to place a key inside and found that surprisingly, it wasn’t empty. Inside was a small, two-inch square of paper. Assuming it was unimportant, she threw it in the trash can. However, something stopped her from just walking away and she fished it back out again. She opened the paper and saw East Asian writing; however, she had no idea what it meant. It was her daughter-in-law who determined it was Chinese and posted a picture of the note on Facebook. Friends helped translate it. The author of the note claimed to be a laborer from a prison in China. He explained what he and those who worked with him were subjected to on a daily basis while manufacturing goods for Walmart, and the conditions he described were terrible. Work spanned fourteen hours a day and didn’t end until midnight. Those who failed to reach their production quotas were beaten or denied food. Pay was minimal and fees for medicine were deducted from their wages. He then gave examples of what they were treated like: horses, cows, pigs, goats, or dogs. In other words, like animals, not humans. The note went viral on social media, and while people were outraged, it didn’t look like it would inspire any real change, because ultimately, it is a problem without an easy solution.

Now ask yourself a question: would you even check to see where it was made at all? How much does it matter to you? While some love the idea of buying locally, few actually do it when push comes to shove. Others may find that where an item was made is not something that they are even consciously aware of. But for almost everyone, price is something they notice. So there is a high demand for Chinese prisoner employment. After all, cheap prices attract buyers. Buyers bring profit. Profit impacts the bottom line. Beyond this, there is also the problem of even knowing how to begin changing things. After all, the whole process of how goods are first made in prisons and then wind up for sale elsewhere around the world is highly complex chain and shrouded in mystery.

To make matters worse, there is generally a lack of communication between many of the involved parties so even those who are a part of the chain may be out of the loop when it comes to the details.

You can guess, then, how much is known by outsiders, particularly those halfway around the world.

According to Li Qiang, the founder of China Labor Watch, it may not even be Walmart’s fault that the labor of prisoners was used in its manufacturing practices. It is not uncommon for a company to place an order to a factory that then transfers this order to prisons. This may be done without notifying the company that any such transfer was ever made. In this case, where should we place the blame?

This was true when such notes supposedly penned by prisoners were found in items at other retailers like Kmart, Zara, Saks, and Primark. When shoppers are made aware of unfair practices, though they condemn it, that’s typically where the reaction ends. Little if anything changes. Soon, they return to buy items in the same place for the same bargains. As for the businesses, it’s debatable if public pressure matters or not when it comes to enforcing change on their supply chain, and also depends on the particular situation. In general, they often have little incentive to take measures to improve their source of suppliers.

So now you may be wondering about Christel’s letter. As we said, it was written in Chinese which adds to its credibility. Beyond this, it referenced the specific prison that the prisoner was in. This provides a unique opportunity. It means that if someone wanted to, they just might be able to learn more about that specific prison and its inmate population. There could be a way to determine beyond a reasonable doubt if the note was written by someone inside and is truly genuine. 

Luckily, a journalist decided to do just that. Rossalyn A. Warren, who writes for Vox.com wanted answers. She began a search for the jail referenced in the 2-inch square note called Yingshan Prison. She believed it was in the city of Guilin based off an obscure decade old report she had found.

So, she and her team hopped on two planes and arrived in the area where they found an old sign with the word Yingshan on it. As they walked, they began to encounter surveillance cameras and three different warning signs to keep their distance. Soon they came upon it, though they did make sure not to get too close. It was quite a discovery. The prison was not some made up thing, it was a real place guarded by real guardsmen. However, it looked more like a residential building with its cream paint, white window frames, and surrounding bushes. Was this also meant to be misleading? Fearing the guards, the reporter then left the area and traveled to a nearby village to ask questions. Almost everyone knew about what took place in the prison because they either worked there, knew someone who had, or knew someone imprisoned. It was not exactly hard to get thrown in jail. Simply speaking out against the Chinese government is enough to get you a long prison sentence that includes manual labor. Many also confirmed that women’s fashion items were routinely made by convicts laboring in the Yingshan Prison’s walls, so it's entirely possible that a Walmart purse was stitched together there as well.

Although the locals are aware of the prison, there is a cultural acceptance of the practice as there is an inherent cultural belief that those in the prison system need to be rehabilitated. Things such as hard manual labor are meant to help with the reform process, however, it is not without consequences, as many inmates have committed suicide due to the miserable conditions. Ultimately, Warren’s trip was a success, though what it uncovered is quite gloomy.

It proved is that the note could very well be real as the details it contained were verified to likely be true. The prison exists produces similar items to the one bought from Walmart. A representative of the Laogai Research Foundation believes this too, particularly because of the exact language used.

Comparing the prisoners to animals using the wording it did is common in China. This gives further evidence to the idea that it did not come from an alternate source in America pretending to be a prisoner.

As we discussed earlier, forced labor in China will likely continue, but the note did make a bit of a difference in this case. Walmart had done some investigating of its own while the reporter did hers and discovered the factory where the purse was made was in violation of Walmart’s standards. As a consequence, Walmart stopped doing business with the factory. However, Walmart has never clarified whether or not it was an actual prisoner who produced the purse. Perhaps they were unable to get any real answers either.

So what do you think? Was the note real? If it was will you continue to shop at Walmart? Will you look at labels to see where things are made? If not, why not?

Let us know in the comments!

Source: Internet