Common conjecture has it that child labour was more or less wiped out in
             post-liberation China and that its reappearance is directly linked to the
             increased role of private enterprise in the Chinese economy. It was well known
             that the use of child labour was widespread before the Chinese Communist Party
             (CCP) took power in 1949. The use of children was a fundamental part of China's
             first attempts to industrialize. The following description of a Tianjin cotton
             mill is the early 1930's illustrates this:
             "Children labored in every department: boys in the departments where male adults
             predominated, girls in the women's department. In the spinning mills they were
             most often put to work at piecing.... In the weaving mill they were assigned to
             heddling, or threading the warp along a set of parallel cords in the loom. Both
             these jobs require excellent eyesight, dexterity and concentration." (1)
             Once the CCP took power in 1949, the new government set about reforming the
             education system and getting children out of the workplace and back into
             school. Its success in the reduction of child labour in China was significant.
             But it is hard to measure how significant and successful it was because of
             government propaganda at that time claimed near total success, but independent
             Nonetheless, the fact that child labour is now clearly back is largely accepted
             both inside and outside China, even if it's extent remains mostly unmeasured.
             It seems that officials with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MOLSS)
             are not acknowledging the existence of the problem. According to a article
             published in Hong Kong, officials at the MOLSS "claim that no government figures
             are available because child labour is not a problem in China." (2)
             China's minimum age for legal employment is 16 years old. Many of the child who get jobs in China's coastal regions do so on the basis
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