Statement from Chinese Embassy on Allegation Concerning Chinese Labourers
2013-02-14 16:00
The Chinese Embassy has noticed that in recent days, some individual radio programme in Lesotho claims that convicts from China are employed as labourers on overseas projects in Lesotho.
Actually, this allegation is nothing new at all, but rumours circulated globally for the past many years, that conjured up by those who seek to discredit China and to tarnish its good image, and that have been dismissed and refuted on many occasions by the Chinese Government or even many western researchers.
What is shocking is that this notion once again appeared on Lesotho radio programme. The Chinese Embassy in Lesotho would like to clarify and point out again that this allegation is sheer nonsense with no facts or evidence. Under China's law, criminal convicts are prohibited from travelling abroad and Chinese companies are not permitted to hire people with criminal records to work on their overseas projects. These regulations are strictly enforced in practice.
The Embassy hereby requests that actions be taken as soon as possible by relevant radio programme to clarify and redress this regrettable error.
Political and Information Office
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Kingdom of Lesotho