Chinese Prisonser Forced To Play WOW

Transcript by http://www.newsy.com

BY JJ BAILEY
ANCHOR JJ BAILEY

You're watching multisource world video news analysis from Newsy.

Breaking rocks, making car seats... playing World of Warcraft? The story of Liu Dali, a Chinese man who worked in the Jixi labor camp is circling the internet and the details are astounding everyone.

The Guardian, who broke the story, said it spoke to the 54-year-old former inmate (whose real name was witheld) claims he and other prisoners were forced to work 12-hour shifts in front of computers, building up virtual money for the prison bosses to sell - for real money.

"Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour," Liu told the Guardian. "There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp ... The computers were never turned off."

The practice, known as gold farming, involves players doing repetitive tasks to build up virtual currency, earn weapons and advance characters which can then be sold to other gamers.


Gold farming is nothing new in China. The practice produced an estimated $2 Billion in 2008 according to the Shanghaist. Still, if the report is true, they say, it could paint a very bleak picture.

"It all sounds like something out of a dystopian cybercentric future where virtual 'electro-gulags' are full of wrongfully-convicted laborers toiling online until their eyes bleed ... With little or no regulation by the government, it probably means this is just the beginning for virtual prison labor in China."


But a writer for the Telegraph quotes a Chinese prison official who says the idea is ludicrous.


"We do not have large numbers of computers. And we do not allow our prisoners to have any contact with the outside world. If they were playing these online games they could easily communicate with other people. We would never allow that."




Finally a writer for Forbes says, while the story may be blowing up the blogosphere, something doesn't smell right.

"...It's splashy and weird; it's sketchily sourced and hard to verify; and it feeds on the notion, still held in some quarters, of the Internet as ... a place where dignity is cheap and the helpless are ripe for exploitation."




According to the Guardian, 80% of all gold farmers are in China and there are thought to be 100,000 full-time gold farmers in the country.

Get more multisource world video news analysis from Newsy.

Transcript by Newsy.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• newsy
• newsy.com
• chinese
• prisoners
• world of warcraft
• prison
• guards
• cash
• Liu Dali
• china
• labor camp
• computer
• shifts
• gold farming
• virtual currency
• guardian report
• multisource
• video news
• gaming
• world news

[blank8934]

The difference between a World of Warcraft Player and a Prisoner forced to play World of Warcraft?

The prisoner goes outside more often.

[DaLauteNoob]

@blank8934 hahaha so true xD

[CoupeGrace]

Stephen Harper Look A Like

[chrisstevensjunior]

@lechbrtube better than living a bad life as a prisoner at least u have some fun lol

[lechbrtube]

but they dont have fun, just take gold and gold....

[chrisstevensjunior]

everybody will want to go to prison in china for the GAMES :DDDDDDDD

[blank8934]

@prjerry7 lol yeah man, i found it hilarious on yahoo so i posted it here.

[Wizardi1111]

Well at least they get to play Wow instead of labor work...then again,gold farming is hell!

[prjerry7]

if i get prosecuted, transfer me to Chinese jurisdiction C;

[prjerry7]

@blank8934 got that from yahoo huh?

[jxsilicon9]

I rather be lined up and shot than have to play WOW.