Made in China : A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Cost of America's Cheap Goods

**A Most-Anticipated Book of the Year: __Newsweek__ \* __Refinery29__** "Moving and powerful." --Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author **Discover the truth behind the discounts** In 2012, an Oregon mother named Julie Keith opened up a package of Halloween decorations. The cheap foam headstones had been five dollars at Kmart, too good a deal to pass up. But when she opened the box, something shocking fell out: an SOS letter, handwritten in broken English. The note's author, Sun Yi, was a mild-mannered Chinese engineer turned political prisoner, forced into grueling labor for campaigning for the freedom to join a forbidden meditation movement. He was imprisoned alongside petty criminals, civil rights activists, and tens of thousands of others the Chinese government had decided to "reeducate," carving foam gravestones and stitching clothing for more than fifteen hours a day. In , investigative journalist Amelia Pang pulls back the curtain on Sun's story and the stories of others like him, including the persecuted Uyghur minority group whose abuse and exploitation is rapidly gathering steam. What she reveals is a closely guarded network of laogai--forced labor camps--that power the rapid pace of American consumerism. Through extensive interviews and firsthand reportage, Pang shows us the true cost of America's cheap goods and shares what is ultimately a call to action--urging us to ask more questions and demand more answers from the companies we patronize. A Most-Anticipated Book of the Year: Newsweek * Refinery29 Timely and urgent . . . Pang is a dogged investigator.#160; The New York Times Moving and powerful. Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist and author#160; Discover the truth behind the discounts. #160; In 2012, an Oregon mother named Julie Keith opened up a package of Halloween decorations. The cheap foam headstones had been five dollars at Kmart, too good a deal to pass up. But when she opened the box, something shocking fell out: an SOS letter, handwritten in broken English. #160; Sir: If you occassionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands people here who are under the persicuton of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever. The notes author, Sun Yi, was a mild-mannered Chinese engineer turned political prisoner, forced into grueling labor as punishment for campaigning for the freedom to join a forbidden meditation movement. He was imprisoned alongside petty criminals, civil rights activists, and tens of thousands of others the Chinese government had decided to reeducate, carving foam gravestones and stitching clothing for more than fifteen hours a day. In Made in China , investigative journalist Amelia Pang pulls back the curtain on Suns story and the stories of others like him, including the persecuted Uyghur minority group, whose abuse and exploitation is rapidly gathering steam. What she reveals is a closely guarded network of laogaiforced labor campsthat power the rapid pace of American consumerism. Through extensive interviews and firsthand reportage, Pang shows us the true cost of Americas cheap goods and shares what is ultimately a call to actionurging us to ask more questions and demand more answers from the companies we patronize. #160 A Most-anticipated Book Of The Year: Newsweek * Refinery29 “moving And Powerful.” —chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize–winning Journalist And Author In 2012, An Oregon Mother Named Julie Keith Opened Up A Package Of Halloween Decorations. The Cheap Foam Headstones Had Been $5 At Kmart, Too Good A Deal To Pass Up. But When She Opened The Box, Something Fell Out That She Wasn’t Expecting: An Sos Letter, Handwritten In Broken English By The Prisoner Who’d Made And Packaged The Items. In Made In China, Investigative Journalist Amelia Pang Pulls Back The Curtain On The Labor Camps That Create The Home Goods We Buy At Kmart, The Fast Fashion We Buy At H&m, And A Shocking Number Of Other Products Besides. The Book Follows The Life Of Sun Yi, The Chinese Engineer Who Wrote The Note After Finding Himself A Political Prisoner, Locked In A Gulag For Joining A Forbidden Meditation Practice And Campaigning For The Freedom To Do So. There He Worked Alongside Petty Criminals, Civil Rights Activists, And Anyone Else The Chinese Government Decided To “reeducate,” Carving Foam Gravestones And Stitching Clothing For More Than Fifteen Hours A Day. In Chasing This Story, Journalist Amelia Pang Has Conducted Extensive Interviews With Sun Yi And The People Who Knew Him. She Also Identified And Interviewed Others Who Endured Similar Horrors, And Who Inflicted Them. And She Traveled To China To Follow Falsified Supply Chains Herself, Tracking Trucks From Labor Camps To Warehouses. The Story She Uncovers Is A Call To Action, Urging The American Consumer To Ask More Questions And Demand More Answers From The Companies They Patronize. "Moving and powerful." ?Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author? In 2012, an Oregon mother named Julie Keith opened up a package of Halloween decorations. The cheap foam headstones had been $5 at Kmart, too good a deal to pass up. But when she opened the box, something fell out that she wasn?t expecting: an SOS letter, handwritten in broken English by the prisoner who?d made and packaged the items. ? In Made in China , investigative journalist Amelia Pang pulls back the curtain on the labor camps that create the home goods we buy at Kmart, the fast fashion we buy at H&M, and a shocking number of other products besides. The book follows the life of Sun Yi, the Chinese engineer who wrote the note after finding himself a political prisoner, locked in a gulag for joining a forbidden meditation practice and campaigning for the freedom to do so. There he worked alongside petty criminals, civil rights activists, and anyone else the Chinese government decided to "reeducate," carving foam gravestones and stitching clothing for more than fifteen hours a day. ? In chasing this story, journalist Amelia Pang has conducted extensive interviews with Sun Yi and the people who knew him. She also identified and interviewed others who endured similar horrors, and who inflicted them. And she traveled to China to follow falsified supply chains herself, tracking trucks from labor camps to warehouses. The story she uncovers is a call to action, urging the American consumer to ask more questions and demand more answers from the companies they patronize In 2012, an Oregon mother opened up a package of Halloween decorations, and something shocking fell out: an SOS letter, handwritten in broken English. "Sir: If you occassionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands people here who are under the persicuton of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever." Sun Yi, a Chinese engineer turned political prisoner, had been forced into grueling labor for campaigning for the freedom to join a forbidden meditation movement. His "reeducation" involved carving foam gravestones and stitching clothing for more than fifteen hours a day. Pang reveals is a closely guarded network of laogai-- forced labor camps-- that power the rapid pace of American consumerism. -- adapted from jacket Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 7 Prologue: A Message from the Graveyard 12 1: The Brink of Death 22 2: Laogai Nation 39 3: Who Was Sun Yi? 51 4: Rebel Meditators 65 5: Entering Masanjia 79 6: Audits and Subterfuge 92 7: Desire and Denial 103 8: Ghost Work 113 9: A Laogai Love Letter 120 10: Dangerous Words 128 11: Historical Complicity 133 12: Transplanted 149 13: Wrong Answers 155 14: Legal Channels 163 15: We Made It 172 16: Fight and Flight 181 17: Blending In 195 18: Jakarta 199 19: The State of Camps Today 208 Epilogue: What We Can Do 224 Author’s Note 230 Acknowledgments 234 Notes 238 Bibliography 286 "After an Oregon mother finds an SOS letter in a box of Halloween decorations, a story unfolds about the man who wrote it: a Chinese political prisoner, sentenced without trial to work grueling hours at a "reeducation" camp-manufacturing the products sold in our own big-box stores."