The Congressional-Executive Commission on China heard testimony on Tuesday that companies based in China are using forced labor from North Koreans and Uyghur Muslims to process seafood for American consumption., wittily entitled “From Bait to Plate: How Forced Labor in China Taints America’s Seafood Supply Chain,” was inspired byfrom a group called the Outlaw Ocean Project about the “rampant” use of forced labor by Chinese fishing firms.
The Chinese fishing fleet allegedly preys on naive Indo-Pacific villagers who are desperate for work and hear rumors that commercial fishing pays fairly well for unskilled labor.
OOP said China has been using its immense Belt and Road Initiative to expand its fishing operations by developing ports where it can “shirk taxes and avoid meddling inspectors.” The Chinese fishing fleet also conducts surveillance for the People’s Liberation Army and serves as a seaborne “militia,” furthering China’s territorial ambitions by forcing other nations out of contested waters.
The chairman also noted the grave security implications of China using its massive “maritime militia” to conduct surveillance and espionage activities. Merkley quoted OOP research that found “over one thousand tons of seafood have been exported to American importers by Chinese seafood-processing companies linked to North Korean labor,” in violation of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act .
“U.S. seafood companies need to understand that this misses the point. Under U.S. law, any use of Xinjiang workers is deemed illegal because it occurs in the context of a larger government-run and coercive program, and whether these workers are paid or they tell auditors or state media that they are happy to have the job is not relevant,” he said, comparing the Uyghur situation to child labor law violations.