Recently, a netizen from southern Guizhou released a video claiming that her father had been forced to work in a black brick kiln in Shanxi for 18 years. Due to falling ill and losing his ability to work, he was abandoned by the roadside and managed to escape. According to her father, there were 31 other young people working alongside him.
Zhao Qichao, who hails from Changshun County in Guizhou Province, disappeared in 2006 when he went out to work. Despite extensive efforts by his family to locate him, he remained missing for 18 years. Around 2 a.m. on November 14, 2024, Zhao Qichao was found wandering in the cultural square of Changzi County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province. He was reported to the authorities, taken to the county’s relief station, and later transferred to Changzhi City’s relief management station, where his family was finally reunited with him.
Zhao Qichao’s daughter, Zhao Qiumei, revealed that when her father went missing, she was only 10 years old. When she saw him, he had short hair, wore a thick coat, leaned on a yellow cane, and his hands and feet were deformed and weak due to a stroke. Currently, he is receiving medical treatment for the stroke and urinary incontinence.
Her father told her that he had been working in brick kilns for all these years, moving between several kilns. If he worked slowly, he would be beaten, and despite working for 18 years, he received no pay. Only when he became unable to work was he discarded. “Twenty-some days ago, he was brought to Changzhi City by a car. The person who dropped him off gave him a cane, 510 yuan, and a bag of biscuits.”
Photos provided by the family show thick calluses on Zhao Qichao’s hands, and his right index finger is abnormally bent. Zhao Qichao mentioned that around 30 young people lived in the same dormitory and worked alongside him in the brick kilns.
Zhao Qiumei stated that they had reported the incident to the authorities in Changshun County, Guizhou, but as her father’s household registration had been canceled after he went missing and he had lost his ID which he lent to someone before disappearing for work, they are currently in the process of re-registering his household, and thus cannot file a case at the moment.
According to internet users, there are many black brick factories in Shanxi. Some shared about the harsh conditions they faced, including being beaten if they didn’t work, insufficient food, and being locked in rooms.
Another netizen recounted a similar story, mentioning that a man from their village had disappeared for more than twenty years, only to be found in Guiyang in 2022 due to the pandemic. Upon his return, he revealed being deceitfully taken to a black brick factory where workers were mistreated and even killed for disobedience or attempting to escape.
Furthermore, some internet users highlighted that despite an article written about black brick factories years ago, the situation remains unchanged. They called for thorough investigations into these facilities and the local governments. Questions were raised about government oversight and the possibility of such atrocities occurring under their watch.