Government Response
As the scandal received immediate media attention, it also caught the eyes of the country's major leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. Governor Yu Youjun of Shanxi province offered an unprecedented self-criticism. Yu resigned as part of a wider reshuffle on 30 August 2007, but (as of early September 2007) it appears likely that he will be promoted after the 17th Party Congress.
In June and July 2007, 570 people in Shanxi and Henan were freed by the Chinese government. Of those rescued, sixty-nine of them were children. In response, the Chinese government assembled a force of 35,000 police to check northern Chinese brickyards for slaves, sent dozens of brickyard supervisors to prison, punished ninety-five low level officials in Shanxi province for dereliction of duty, and sacked twenty-four. One brickyard foreman, Heng Tinghan, was sentenced to life in prison, and an employee of his, Zhao Tanbing, earned the death penalty for killing a mentally handicapped slave. However, no senior officials were held accountable.
Read more about this topic: 2007 Chinese Slave Scandal
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