Commerce ministry denies China exports prison labor

An official from China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has dismissed as groundless overseas media reports that China was sending prisoners to work on overseas projects in order to relieve the pressure of overcrowded domestic prisons, according to the ministry's official Web site on Aug. 10.

The official said according to China's foreign contracted projects and labor cooperation regulations, enterprises engaged in foreign contracted projects and labor cooperation must acquire relevant qualifications and assign employees who are technically qualified and have no misconduct record or criminal record to work overseas.

In addition, in accordance with Article 8, Section 3 and 4 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens, citizens sentenced and who are currently serving sentences, and citizens undergoing reeducation through labor are not allowed to leave the country. As for those who are not allowed to leave the country, the Exit and Entry Administration Department will restrict their exit.

These regulations are strictly implemented in practice. The reports of China sending prisoners to work overseas are sheer nonsense and out of ulterior motives, he said. The official hopes relevant media groups respect the facts and take rapid measures to correct their inaccurate reports.

By People's Daily Online