A report by an advocacy group entitled “No medal for the Olympics on labour rights” claims four firms making official Olympic merchandise for the 2008 Beijing Olympics were exploiting workers.  Playfair, an alliance of world trade unions, found abuses at factories including child labor, forced overtime, and low wages.  Additionally, it is alleged workers are being instructed to lie about wages, poor health, and safety conditions to inspectors. 

Three of the four firms have denied these accusations.  Interviews with workers of the three firms support the firms’ denial of labor abuse.  The fourth, however, Lekit Stationery has admitted children 12 and 13 years of age were employed by one of its sub-contractors, Leter Stationery.  They say the children were employed during the school holidays last winter and did not work on official Olympic merchandise.  Lekit also insists it was not aware of its sub-contractor’s employment of children.

Lekit had originally denied these allegations, but the company only found out when Dongguan officials released the findings of an initial investigation into the issue.

The International Olympic Committee said it supports ethical practices.  Additionally, they say more stringent regulations must be made so the 2012 London Olympics will not be tarnished by similar accusations.  The speed of the Dongguan investigation shows, however, China’s desire to avoid bad publicity in the time before the 2008 Olympics.

For more information, please see:

–Olympic firms ‘abusing workers’

–Olympic firm admits child labour

–Chinese Olympic firms deny abuse

Special tribunal investigators cleared the last major delay of trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders. Cambodian and international judges for the United Nations-backed special court agreed on rules for the judicial process, paving the way for Khmer Rouge leaders to be held accountable for the atrocities committed during their rule. The announcement ends six months of debate.

Foreign lawyers will be allowed to represent defendants and victims may file complaints to the courts as long as they do so as a group. Cambodian judges will hold the majority but will need one supporting vote from a foreign counterpart to prevail in any decision.

The prosecution will refer their first cases to the investigating judges, who will determine whether there is sufficient evidence against Khmer Rouge leaders to bring them to full trial. The process is expected to start within a few weeks and last three years.

In 2004, after years of negotiations with UN representatives, Cambodia agreed to try a handful of Khmer Rouge leaders who were considered to be most responsible for the atrocities.

But since its establishment almost a year ago, the court has been stalled by bitter disputes between the Cambodian and foreign judges over many procedural issues, including court etiquette and registration fees for foreign defense lawyers.

The investigating judges will begin the judicial process as soon as they receive their first case from prosecutors.

 

For more information, please see:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/499fdcce-1a14-11dc-99c5-000b5df10621,_i_rssPage=7f5f6b12-2f66-11da-8b51-00000e2511c8.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/13/khmer.trial.ap/index.html

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/281933/1/.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6747143.stm

China has rescued 31 people forced to work for a year as slaves, according to China Shanxi News.  A brickworks, run by the son of a local Communist Party official, supplied them only bread and water. They received no pay.  The factory is near Linfen in the inland province of Shanxi, China.

Eight of the workers now can only remember their names. One slave was beaten to death with a hammer for not working hard enough. All of the survivors have bruises, wounds and burns, having been made to carry uncooled bricks and walk barefoot in the kiln.

They were guarded by dogs and “thugs” at the factory. The boss was allowed to get away with the bad treatment because of his political connections. The workers are still living at the brickworks while the local government tries to get their wages.

 Millions of migrant workers from poor rural areas have flocked to urban areas to find work. They often work for as little as $2 a day or less.

 Many of these laborers work without formal contracts. They have little legal recourse in case of disputes.

 For more information, please see:

http://www.einnews.com/china/newsfeed-shanxi

www.edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/08/china.workers.reut/index.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6733045.stm

In a divided two to one decision, Malaysia’s highest court refused to recognize a Muslim woman’s conversion to Christianity.  Lina Joy tried to change her religious status and remove the word Islam from her identity card to marry her Catholic fiance.  Under separate laws in Malaysia, Muslims must marry within the faith.  The abandonment of Islam is sometimes punishable by fines or imprisonment.  Here, the Islamic Sharia court rejected Ms. Joy’s appeal.

Ms. Joy, born Azlina Jailani, has lost her job, been disowned by her family, and went into hiding last year after receiving death threats.  She now may seek asylum in Australia.

Malaysia’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but declares all ethnic Malays are Muslim and thus are not allowed to convert.  In this multi-racial country, Muslims constitute sixty percent of Malaysia’s population of nearly 25 million people.  Critics say this ruling underlines the increasing separation of Muslims from others. Additionally, it reinforced the notion that Islamic laws should have primacy over secular laws in some aspects of Muslims’ lives and the question of the separation of religion and state.

For more information, please see:

–Malaysia rejects Christian appeal

–Malaysia Top Court Doesn’t Honor Muslim’s Conversion

Coal mines in Da Antou, China, are cracking and destroying the homes above. Over the last several years, buildings have slumped and split apart because of the caverns created by the coal mines. Because of China’s growing economy, and thus need for energy, coal companies are expanding production. Coal meets 70% of China’s energy needs. More than half of the houses in Da Antou, forcing 400 people to move. In Shanxi province, Government officials estimate that more than 7,700 square miles have been hollowed out by miners, leaving the earth riddled with empty caverns and causing the crust to sink in more than 1,800 places. 

 The increase in mining also effects farmers. After the coal is extracted, it is trucked across the province. The black dust then falls on corn and wheat crops. The mining has effected the Da Antou water system in, forcing farmers to haul water from a communal pipe installed in the village square, which also sometimes goes dry. Also, according to farmers, terraced fields have been left unworkable because of the sinkholes.

 The Chinese Work Safety Administration reported 4,746 miners were killed in Chinese coal mine accidents last year, making it among the world’s deadliest. 

For more information, please see:

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/31/AR2007053102191.html chinadigitaltimes.net/2007/06/chinas_energy_rush_shatters_village_edward_cody.php

www.freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=12027

www.newsique.com/world/chinas_energy_rush_shatters_vill/