Country: China
Group: Jingpo
Date Finalized: 11/05/2020
Team: Vianney Mancilla (lead), Johanna McCombs, Nusrat Nijum, Michael Demangone
Content Warning: slavery, human trafficking
Approximate Time Period: 1271-1368, 2000-2013
The Jingpo ethnic minority in China has likely been subjected to forced labor. However, only a couple of sources documented the Jingpo’s experience with forced labor, rating the data quality a 1.
During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the nobles stripped the Jingpo “of any personal freedom” as the Jingpo were required to take their master’s surname and perform forced labor (Factsanddetails.com., 2015). It is important to note that the ethnicity of the nobles was not explicitly stated and requires further research. More recently, a large cluster of Jingpo ethnic communities reside in Ruili City-a border town between China and Myanmar (Shih, 2013). Ruili City is known for being the central point where both sides of the border exchange drugs, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and even women and children (Shih, 2013). Since 2000-2013, Jingpo women and children have been subjected to human trafficking (Shih, 2013). The exact number of women and children that are victims of human trafficking is not stated in the article, but Shih underscores the growing prevalence of the human trafficking trade in China (2013). In 2007, China and Myanmar signed a Bilateral Memorandum of Understanding to prevent and reduce the cross-border human trafficking through mutual efforts (Shih, 2013). However, Shih explains that the government’s efforts to police and patrol the border do not address the greatest risk to trafficking-systemic issues and social problems within the region (2013).
Sources
- Factsanddetails.com. (2015). Jingpo Minority: History, Religion and Festivals http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat5/sub31/item175.html
- Shih, E. (2013). Health and Rights at the Margins: Human trafficking and HIV/AIDS amongst Jingpo ethnic communities in Ruili City, China. Anti-Trafficking Review, (2). https://doi.org/10.14197/atr.20121327