- Title: China rejects accusations of using penal labour for Tesco supply chain
- Date: 23rd December 2019
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (DECEMBER 23, 2019) (REUTERS) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN GENG SHUANG ARRIVING AT DAILY NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, GENG SHUANG, SAYING: "This is a farce created by Mr. Humphrey. Mr. Humphrey can't bear to keep quiet now, and every once in a while he'll come out to hype something up so that people won't forget about him. But this time, the farce he created here is really just obsolete. I'll offer him a piece of advice--if he wants attention, at least make up something new. Here, I can responsibly say, according to the relevant departments, Shanghai's Qingpu prison has no such foreign prisoners undergoing forced labour." NEWS CONFERENCE ONGOING EXTERIOR OF CHINA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG FLYING
- Embargoed: 6th January 2020 08:47
- Keywords: China human rights Chrismas card Geng Shuang Peter Humphrey Tesco forced labor
- Location: BEIJING, CHINA
- City: BEIJING, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001BB72WJR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:China's Foreign Ministry on Monday (December 23) rejected allegations that foreign inmates at a Shanghai prison are being outsourced as a labour supply chain for Tesco after the British retailer announced its suspension of Chinese suppliers.
Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, made the announcement on Sunday (December 22) after a press report said a customer found a message written inside a card saying it had been packed by foreign prisoners who were victims of forced labour. The message made specific mention of former Qingpu inmate and British journalist Peter Humphrey, whom it urged to contact.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told media in Beijing that according to "the relevant departments Shanghai's Qingpu prison has no such foreign prisoners undergoing forced labour," and that the message was "a farce" created by Humphrey.
Humphrey and his American wife Yu Yingzeng were both sentenced in China in 2014 for illegally obtaining private records of Chinese citizens and selling the information to clients including drug maker GlaxoSmithKline. The couple were deported from China in June 2015 after their jail terms were reduced.
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