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Chinese Underage Sex Scandal Sparks Emotive Debate
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Written By: Lewis Mwanangombe/ipsnews
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Posted Date: 1/31/2012 9:24:13 PM
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Zhang Daliu, 46, a carpenter from China never imagined himself in the dreadful
confines of a stinking and overcrowded Zambian jail where conditions are so
terrible that they lead to gastronomic disorders and skin diseases within days of
confinement.
But that is how the dice has fallen for Zhang and three other expatriate Chinese artisans: Hong Pin Liu,
46, a carpenter; Yang Gang Qiang, 36, a welder; and Zhu Xiang, 51, a bricklayer.
The four men are facing a possible life imprisonment should they be convicted of indecent assault and
sex with a minor, after charges were brought against them by prosecutors in Luanshya, a town on the
southern fringes of Zambia’s mineral-rich Copperbelt Province. Each charge carries a minimum jail
term of 15 years with hard labour, with a maximum life sentence.
The four men are accused of having sex with young girls under the age of 16, the legal age of consent
in Zambia, in exchange for money.
This sex scandal has started a heated debate in this Southern African country, with some accusing the
girls of bringing shame on Zambians by turning to prostitution at such an early age.
Others feel that the problems of poverty and desperation prevalent in Luanshya, which forced the young
girls into prostitution, first began during the corrupt regime of former President Frederick Chiluba.
Chiluba sold Luanshya’s copper mine in 1997 to the Indian Binani Industries for just 35 million dollars
during the privatisation of the country’s mines.
Barely three years after the sale, it fell under receivership and more than 6,000 miners lost their jobs.
This triggered massive poverty and hardship in Luanshya, and for the next six years few could afford to
feed themselves and their families.
In 2009, when China Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Group acquired the mine, many of those in Luanshya
were living in dire poverty. While the sale of the mine meant that there would be jobs again, it also led
to the influx of Chinese workers.
The Chinese mine workers, contracted by the Luanshya Copper Mine to revive the former Roan Antelope
Mining Corporation (Zambia) copper mine and developing the new Muliashi opencast copper mine,
landed in Zambia with a contingent of 270 men, and no women.
Zambia is home to more than 80,000 Chinese of an estimated |
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