[monkeywrench]

"had apparently agreed to pay their smugglers about $60,000 for a voyage to the United States..." Wouldn't these chinese be considered wealthy in china?

[tallhappy]

"had apparently agreed to pay their smugglers about $60,000 for a voyage to the United States..." Wouldn't these chinese be considered wealthy in china?

They pay it off working in the US. It is a form of indentured servitude.