What do you mean when you say "since everything is presumably 'forced' there"?
If it is forced labor, even if paid, the distinction between forced labor and slavery is trivial compared to the distinction between forced labor and freedom.
And there are other chilling mentions of the government forcing citizens to do things, reeducation camps, and surveillance throughout the article (all listed as good things).
If it is forced labor, even if paid, the distinction between forced labor and slavery is trivial compared to the distinction between forced labor and freedom.