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

*A New York Times Book Review Editors Choice Pick* *A Newsweek & Refinery29 Most Anticipated Book of 2021*Timely and urgent. The New York TimesMoving and powerful. Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prizewinning 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 notes 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 Suns 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 laogaiforced labor campsthat power the rapid pace of American consumerism. Through extensive interviews and firsthand reportage, Pang shows us the true cost of Americas cheap goods and shares what is ultimately a call to actionurging us to ask more questions and demand more answers from the companies we patronize. See more