Child Labor increases every year in Southwestern China

There is nothing else that bothers me more than adults taking advantage of children, whether it’s theirs or not. In southwestern China, child labor rings are removing children from their schools to make them work 12-hour shifts in factories. Instead of being educated in their classrooms, Chinese kids are preoccupied producing much of the world’s toys, clothes, and electronics. Teachers such as Jin Ke Xiaoming are complaining that since the past year their student count has declined by 50 percent.

Southern Metropolis, a state-run newspaper, reported that as many as 1,000 school-age workers from the area were employed in manufacturing zones near Hong Kong. Still, Chinese officials deny this or downplay this scandal saying that there is little evidence of widespread violations of child labor laws. Is the government in this country twitching the news media and tricking their own citizens by saying child labor does not existent in China? Probably. This makes us, as Americans, appreciate the education provided to us, students.

If this news topic interested you, check out the New York Times article named “Chinese Factories, Flouting Labor Laws, Hire Children from Poor, Distant Villages.”