Recently, Chinese anti-trafficking volunteer “Shangguan Zhengyi” exposed on Weibo that several disabled individuals in a waste recycling facility in Foshan, Guangdong, were being forced to work as laborers under high temperatures for over 10 hours a day without receiving any wages. The post was deleted by the platform the next day.
Shangguan Zhengyi disclosed on August 4th that he received a tip from a netizen about the situation in a waste recycling facility in Yuankeng Village, Sanshui District, Foshan City, Guangdong. He claimed that multiple disabled workers were being exploited as laborers, working long hours without pay.
On that day, Shangguan Zhengyi personally investigated the facility and observed the disabled individuals enduring the scorching 39°C heat, working from morning till late at night, in a pitiful condition. He tried to gather information from nearby villagers, but they found it difficult to get in touch with these individuals and were unaware of the details.
Shangguan Zhengyi stated that he had reported the case to the Sanshui District government officials and hoped for a thorough investigation.
Many netizens expressed their shock and concern, questioning why it took an individual like Shangguan Zhengyi to uncover such exploitation while grassroots organizations failed to notice. They called for a thorough investigation, emphasizing the need to address and prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
On August 5th, Shangguan Zhengyi posted again, revealing that he had reported to the ShaoGuan 110 hotline in Guangdong Province at 10:34 am about unidentified individuals at a waste recycling station in the jurisdiction, but it took over an hour for the local police to respond. He also received notifications from Weibo stating that his posts contained sensitive “negative information” related to social events, violating the regulations on online content governance, and his posts were restricted to his visibility only.
Shangguan Zhengyi questioned who was trying to silence the issue and why his voice highlighting the problem was being censored. He argued against the arbitrary application of laws to label his posts as violating online content regulations and expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the situation in Guangdong.
Netizens criticized the prioritization of censoring Shangguan Zhengyi’s posts before addressing the actual issues, highlighting the inefficiencies in dealing with such matters promptly. They shared their frustration with the governance of online content in Guangdong and urged for a reevaluation of the transparency and accountability in such processes.
As public opinion continued to escalate, on the same night, the Yundonghai Street Office of Sanshui District, Foshan City issued a notice, stating that 5 “workers” were identified at the facility in question, and further investigations were underway to gather evidence and clarify the situation.