Made in China

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

By: Amelia Pang

Narrated by: Nancy Wu

Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

A Most-Anticipated Book of the Year: Newsweek * Refinery29

“Timely and urgent . . . Pang is a dogged investigator.”—The New York Times

“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.

“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 note’s 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 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.

©2021 Amelia Pang (P)2022 Algonquin Books

Critic reviews

“A moving and powerful look at the brutal slave labor camps in China that mass produce our consumer products. Amelia Pang, who puts a human face on the Chinese laborers who work in bondage, makes clear our complicity in this inhuman system. She forces us, like the abolitionists who battled slavery in the 19th century, to place the sanctity of human life before the maximization of profit. It is hard not to finish this book and not be outraged, not only at the Chinese government but the American corporations that knowingly collaborate with and profit from this modern slave trade.”—Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author

“Amelia Pang has written a powerful new book that traces what we buy back to those who made it, often under truly torturous conditions.”—Scott Simon, host of NPR/Weekend Edition Saturday

“Amelia Pang exposes the shadow economy of forced labor in Made in China. Pang adroitly situates readers to Chinese culture and society… [and] sounds an uplifting note of agency and empowerment about the prospective impact of reforming Western consumption.”—San Francisco Chronicle

I Had No CLUE!

This is a good book that will open your eyes to horrible injustices in China that have taking place over the past 25 years. In particular the forced labor camps that have been pumping out enormous quantities of cheap goods for sale worldwide. After listening to this book (and nearly impossible to accomplish) I will do my best to avoid products made in China.

Great listen!

While this book made me very sad, I could not put stop listening. So informative. I will be making my best effort to not buy products from China.

I thought the Holocaust was an isolated evil event…

in world history but after reading this book, and many others, on the evil and unimaginable torture taking place at these CCP Labor camps, I’m outraged and shell shocked that our country would even permit ANYTHING imported from China!! By the way.. I’ve also noticed that it is way more challenging to find products that DON’T have the “made in China” stamp on it.. Oh and to boot.. I started looking at items around my house and four out of five things I’d pick up would also have the same China label! I’m disgusted and definitely in a mission to NOT purchase these blood stained products in the future. Another interesting note I found out is that China is purchasing farm land, here in America, by the hundreds of thousands of acres!!?? How does that even make sense??.. seriously.. why would the US government NOT have safeguards against allowing other countries to buy up America’s real estate?? Especially our farm land ?? So one day we may be deciding whether or not we’ll bow to the demands of the CCP dragon or starving to death .. all because we won’t take the mark off the beast!? Please read this book, and end times revelation in the Bible, then get busy pushing back and making noise to congressman. Read revelation in the Bible to learn more about taking the mark of the beast. GOD HELP THE VICTIMS IN CHINA AND GOD BLESS AMERICA

A story you will never forget

Truly a sad devastating story. You find yourself guilty for listening but at the same time hoping for that happy ending.

I simply had no idea

Of course, I've heard of horrible sweatshops and child labor. But I had no idea that this even worse & unimaginable world of forced labor was thriving. I had no idea that horrible factories secretly contracted with this unimaginable world. I had no idea ... simply no idea. This book is life-changing.

Shocking and haunting!

A shocking and haunting look at cruel and even deadly Chinese forced labor camps holding dissidents, ethnic and religious minorities that produce some of the consumer products we buy in America. I will be more careful how I shop. The US government needs to hold China accountable and demand effective inspections to determine the source of products.

Riveting! Please Read This Book!

The information in this book hit me like a ton of bricks! I had no idea these horrors are being visited upon these innocent people in order to bring us, Americans, many of the goods we buy. Learning of the unfathomable torture these individuals suffer and the enjoyment that their persecutors gain from seeing them suffer just ripped my heart out. This knowledge kept me up at night. I have been profoundly affected by this revelation. I am humbled by the prisoners who risked their lives to get the information out.

Now that this condition has been brought to my attention, I will avoid as much as possible goods made in China. I will also become much more vocal when American companies' business practices of doing business with companies who utilize forced labor camps to produce their products is discovered and publicized.

Thank you, Amelia Pang and Nancy Wu, for bringing these atrocities to our attention.

If it is made in China, I don’t need it

Read this book and think about what we as individuals can do to help the Chinese people.

😭😡 MUST READ

If you haven’t read this book, already, it’s a must read… pretty much is a must read for anyone who buys products.

Heart breaking

I recommend everyone who has ever bought anything at Walmart, Kmart, the dollar store, etc. should be required to read this book!