Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg has agreed to sell his elderly mother to a Chinese forced-labour camp.
The deal will see Borg’s mother, Doreen, shipped off to the Xianjing region in the far west of China, where she will join thousands of ethnic Uyghur Muslims held in so-called re-education camps, which outside observers have said are more akin to concentration camps.
Once there, she will be enlisted in a factory making clothes and shoes, in exchange for a monthly salary of CN¥1,500 (€188).
“I believe this deal will beneficial for everyone concerned. Mum has always wanted to travel to China, and I’ve told her that the labour camp is a retirement village for Maltese Labourites,” Borg told journalists during the handover ceremony at the Chinese embassy in Valletta this morning.
“In return, the Chinese government is giving me €200 to spend on a water feature for my swimming pool. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Other government ministers are also considering selling their parents into forced labour, with the notable exception of environment minister Aaron Farrugia, who said he needs his father to carry on defending him on Facebook.