Qingpu Prison

Location of Qingpu Prison in the Shanghai metropolitan area

The Qingpu Prison ( Chinese 青浦监狱 , Pinyin Qīngpǔ jiānyù ) is a prison in the Qingpu district of Shanghai in the People's Republic of China . The prison has an area of 20 km² and about 500 police officers . The prison police are organized into three sections, a logistic section, a foreign prisoner section and a high security section. The prison is said to have prisoners from around 40 nations.

Controversy

Shortly before Christmas 2019, a six-year-old girl from London discovered a message on a Christmas card from the supermarket chain Tesco . This card read the following message in English:

“We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qingpu prison China. Forced to work against our will. Please help us and notify human rights organization. Use the link to contact Mr Peter Humphrey. "

“We are foreign inmates in Shanghai Qingpu Prison in China. Forced to work against our will. Please help us and notify a human rights organization. Use the link to contact Mr. Peter Humphrey. "

The girl's family initially thought this was a joke, but then went public. Tesco immediately terminated the contract with the company responsible for producing the Christmas cards. Peter Humphrey , a journalist mentioned in the embassy, was himself a prisoner in Qingpu Prison for 9 months without being charged or convicted. The journalist then reported from other former prisoners who confirmed that Christmas cards and packaging for Tesco had been made under duress in prison for at least two years. In the spring of 2019, Humphrey also described that the prison in Qingpu is like a company and takes on production work. The conditions in the 12-man cells are catastrophic.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b China’s Qingpu Prison: the 'first-class' facility at the center of Tesco's forced labor scandal. December 23, 2019, accessed December 25, 2019 .
↑ Peter Humphrey: Tesco charity cards 'packed by China's prison slaves'. The Sunday Times, December 22, 2019, accessed December 26, 2019 .
^ Tesco Christmas card: 'Somebody had already written in it'. BBC News, December 22, 2019, accessed December 26, 2019 .
↑ China rejects charges of forced labor in prison. Foreign inmates have to produce Christmas cards for a British supermarket in Shanghai, according to a report. China describes the allegations as fabricated. Zeit Online, December 23, 2019, accessed December 25, 2019 .

[soc19-1] China’s Qingpu Prison: the 'first-class' facility at the center of Tesco's forced labor scandal. December 23, 2019, accessed December 25, 2019 .

[2] Peter Humphrey: Tesco charity cards 'packed by China's prison slaves'. The Sunday Times, December 22, 2019, accessed December 26, 2019 .

[3] Tesco Christmas card: 'Somebody had already written in it'. BBC News, December 22, 2019, accessed December 26, 2019 .

[4] China rejects charges of forced labor in prison. Foreign inmates have to produce Christmas cards for a British supermarket in Shanghai, according to a report. China describes the allegations as fabricated. Zeit Online, December 23, 2019, accessed December 25, 2019 .