had similar conditions; nearly half the working children under 1o had never been to school. In 1978 the Thai police rescued more than 60 children from a factory in Bangkok which made paper chains. The children, some of them 8 years old, had been "bought" from their parents in north-eastern provinces for up to $100 each to work at the factory. They were alleged to have been forced to work 18 hours a day, seven
1 days a week, for between 10 and 90 cents (U.S.) a week.
In Taiwan, small children work in sweatshops, and sleep
2 in factory dormitories.
In 1973 the Hong Kong census showed 36,000 children between 10 and 14 at work instead of at school. In 1970 children of twelve and under were found working in toy factories, using hot soldering irons and working from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Children also sat at work tables in dark, dirty rooms, without fans or windows, making toy rings, punching out metal rings and fixing in plastic stones. A child of seven was found in a small factory making paper hats.
A 1977 report suggests that a relatively cheap work force (including children) and few restrictive laws attract foreign firms to Hong Kong. The report lists some of the injuries to illegal child workers; "one hospital alone handled 12 cases last year of children as young as eleven who had suffered industrial injuries. These included an 11-year-old with both legs burned, a 12-year-old whose foot was badly cut and a 13-year-old girl from a toy factory whose arm was fractured."
There have also been reports of young children making fireworks and matches, as well as working in textile, metalwork, hosiery, glove,, garment, wig, electric bulb,
3 plastics, and electronics factories.
International Herald Tribune 25
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2. Matthew Rinaldo, New York Times, 4 September 1977.
1. ILO, 1972, p. 24
April 1978.
3.
Martin Page, Sunday Mirror, London, 15 February 1970; Robin Porter, Child Labour in Hong Kong, London: Hong Kong Research Project, 1975; Hong Kong, A Case to Answer. Spokesman Books, 1975; Joe England, Hong Kong: Britain's Responsibility. London Fabian Society, 1976; Michael Gillard, Guardian, London, 1 April 1977.