Notorious Chinese re-education camp finally closes thanks to media attention surrounding Mr Zhang’s letter calling for help
Note was found in box sold at Kmart last year
Julie Keith found his note hidden inside Totally Ghoul box
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 12:03 EST, 7 November 2013 | UPDATED: 13:56 EST, 7 November 2013
A former Chinese labor camp inmate has thanked the Oregon woman who helped expose his plight after finding his plea for help hidden in Halloween decorations.
The letter about horrendous working conditions at a Chinese labor camp was found by Julie Keith last year, stuffed between styrofoam headstones of a Totally Ghoul decoration box sold at Kmart.
The man named only as Mr Zhang, who spent two and a half years in the notorious Masanjia labor camp in 2008, thanked Ms Keith for her ‘righteous action that helped people in desperation’.
Discovery: Julie Keith helped expose conditions in a Chinese labor camp after finding a note from a prisoner inside a box of Halloween decorations, pictured right
He had been freed from the camp by the time the letter he risked his life to write was discovered, but Mr Zhang told CNN he is grateful that Ms Keith helped shine a light on the appalling conditions there.