Apple and many others have components that were manufactured by forced Uighur labor whos workers were bought and sold by factories and labor brokers

[WillyW]

In a scathing report by the the Canberra-based Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) China is accused of using forced labour in factories that supply products from many different global brands.

 

The report linked here:

https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyghurs-sale

 

Details all of the brands that have components that have used forced labour:

Quote

In all, ASPI’s research has identified 83 foreign and Chinese companies directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through potentially abusive labour transfer programs as recently as 2019: Abercrombie & Fitch, Acer, Adidas, Alstom, Amazon, Apple, ASUS, BAIC Motor, BMW, Bombardier, Bosch, BYD, Calvin Klein, Candy, Carter’s, Cerruti 1881, Changan Automobile, Cisco, CRRC, Dell, Electrolux, Fila, Founder Group, GAC Group (automobiles), Gap, Geely Auto, General Electric, General Motors, Google, H&M, Haier, Hart Schaffner Marx, Hisense, Hitachi, HP, HTC, Huawei, iFlyTek, Jack & Jones, Jaguar, Japan Display Inc., L.L.Bean, Lacoste, Land Rover, Lenovo, LG, Li-Ning, Mayor, Meizu, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Mitsumi, Nike, Nintendo, Nokia, The North Face, Oculus, Oppo, Panasonic, Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma, Roewe, SAIC Motor, Samsung, SGMW, Sharp, Siemens, Skechers, Sony, TDK, Tommy Hilfiger, Toshiba, Tsinghua Tongfang, Uniqlo, Victoria’s Secret, Vivo, Volkswagen, Xiaomi, Zara, Zegna, ZTE. Some brands are linked with multiple factories.

 

Tim Cook is even seen touring a factory that used forced Uighur labour for the iPhone 8 and X selfie camers on his Weibo profile attached to this post.

 

The article details several case studies including:

- Showing workers making sneakers for Nike where the workers were being actively monitored for anti Chinese ideology and behaviour

- Where it showed that workers were transferred directly from re-education camps to factories to make products for Fila, Nike, Adidas, Puma and others

- Where workers were expected to learn the Chinese way and acclimate to love the 'party' in factories that manufactured goods for GM, Apple, Lenovo, Sony, HP, Dell, Huawei, HTC, ASUS, Samsung, Acer, Amazon, LG, Microsoft, Oppo, and others. This is the Case study where Tim Cook was quoted as saying in a now deleted Apple Press Release: "Cook praised the company for its ‘humane approach towards employees’ during his visit to O-Film, asserting that workers seemed ‘able to gain growth at the company, and live happily."

 

The article acquired it's sources from:

Quote

Using open-source public documents, satellite imagery, and media reports, the institute identified 27 factories in nine Chinese provinces that have used labourers transferred from re-education centres in Xinjiang since 2017 as part of a programme known as “Xinjiang aid”.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/01/china-transferred-detained-uighurs-to-factories-used-by-global-brands-report

 

The labourers have increasingly become a priority for China as:

Quote

Aside from political incentives, the business of ‘buying’ and ‘selling’ Uyghur labour can be quite lucrative for local governments and commercial brokers. According to a 2018 Xinjiang provincial government notice, for every rural ‘surplus labourer’⁹⁹ transferred to work in another part of Xinjiang for over nine months, the organiser is awarded Ұ20 (US$3); however, for labour transfers outside of Xinjiang, the figure jumps 15-fold to Ұ300 (US$43.25).¹⁰⁰ Receiving factories across China are also compensated by the Xinjiang government, receiving a Ұ1,000 (US$144.16) cash inducement for each worker they contract for a year, and Ұ5,000 (US$720.80) for a three-year contract.¹⁰¹ The statutory minimum wage in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s regional capital, was Ұ1620 (US$232.08) a month in 2018.¹⁰²

 

The report makes several recommendations including pointing out most importantly

Quote

Companies using forced Uyghur labour in their supply chains could find themselves in breach of laws which prohibit the importation of goods made with forced labour or mandate disclosure of forced labour supply chain risks.

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Edited March 4, 2020 by WillyW
Title

[Mihle]

[BobVonBob]

I'm not that surprised and I hate that I'm not.

[Sauron]

In case anyone needed a reminder that corporations - all of them - not only don't give a fuck about human rights but actively encourage abuse.

[CTR640]

Not surpised one bit at all. They think human rights can fuck off and maximize profits and keep laying satisfied in bed with shareholders.

[SkyHound0202]

ASPI is founded by the Australian government and partly funded by the Australian Department of Defence. It's a think tank rather than a news agency.

 

To me, this does not look like "news" but rather an "original research". And I am not surprised with the content either: same old story we love to hate.

[Master Disaster]

Why single out Apple in the headline? They were far from alone and its entirely possible Tim Cook had no idea the workers were modern slaves, I mean if you were a modern slave would you tell anyone right at the place of your work infront of the people who are holding you?

[Master Disaster]

1 minute ago, SkyHound0202 said:

ASPI is founded by the Australian government and partly funded by the Australian Department of Defence. It's a think tank rather than a news agency.

 

To me, this does not look like "news" but rather an "original research". And I am not surprised with the content either: same old story we love to hate.

By any definition you wish to use this counts as news, its new, noteworthy and about a recent event.

[Sauron]

22 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

its entirely possible Tim Cook had no idea the workers were modern slaves

I doubt it, this is definitely not the first time something like this comes up.

Edited March 5, 2020 by Sauron
Removed the passive aggressive posturing, it was uncalled for.

[minibois]

What the hell is wrong with the world we live in and why do I literally not have a way to stop this

10 minutes ago, BobVonBob said:

I'm not that surprised and I hate that I'm not.

Does this sum op your feelings? Because it does mine.

[CTR640]

7 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

its entirely possible Tim Cook had no idea the workers were modern slaves

[X] Doubt

 

He's responsible for making Apple a lot of money, I mean, he's the ceo after all and he knows very darn well what he's up to.

[Sir0Tek]

Letting people work in a sweatshop for a few $$ a day in order to survive is slavery as well.

[TempestCatto]

2 minutes ago, Sir0Tek said:

Letting people work in a sweatshop for a few $$ a day in order to survive is slavery as well.

Tell my supervisor that.

[RejZoR]

4 minutes ago, Sauron said:

In case anyone needed a reminder that corporations - all of them - not only don't give a fuck about human rights but actively encourage abuse.

That's not true. They don't want child and forced labor, because it's bad for their image and reputation. Also it's hard for them to really control it strictly on site. They hire a factory from someone like Foxconn which does components for their products. They check on it here and there like every business partner would, but they probably don't have someone there 24/7 to enforce it even if they'd really want to.

 

The other problem is demand and supply. Everyone wants a cheap labor and so supply is created for the demand. Often unethical and immoral, but that's what constant need to drive prices down creates. Unfortunately.

[Sauron]

Just now, RejZoR said:

That's not true. They don't want child and forced labor, because it's bad for their image and reputation.

Only if it gets out. And also given all of them seem to be doing it the image damage doesn't really matter - who else are you going to buy from if you don't like this?

1 minute ago, RejZoR said:

Also it's hard for them to really control it strictly on site. They hire a factory from someone like Foxconn which does components for their products.

The fact that Foxconn treats its workers terribly has been widely known for well over a decade. They were at the center of the original phone manufacturing scandal. Nothing changed. Companies demand low manufacturing prices knowing full well that it means worker abuse.

3 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

They check on it here and there like every business partner would, but they probably don't have someone there 24/7 to enforce it even if they'd really want to.

One incident like this should be enough to terminate all relations with those manufacturers, yet nothing has changed for years.

4 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

The other problem is demand and supply. Everyone wants a cheap labor and so supply is created for the demand. Often unethical and immoral, but that's what constant need to drive prices down creates. Unfortunately.

I'd say that speaks to a core issue with our economical system, wouldn't you?

[RonnieOP]

1 hour ago, Master Disaster said:

By any definition you wish to use this counts as news, its new, noteworthy and about a recent event.

Tbh hows this new?

 

Was anyone really under the impression that these factories were paying people a good salary with paid vacations?

[Commodus]

8 minutes ago, RonnieOP said:

Tbh hows this new?

 

Was anyone really under the impression that these factories were paying people a good salary with paid vacations?

Based on the way some people act, you'd think every brand outside of Apple used factories where people work no more than 40 hours per week and sip peppermint lattes during breaks.

[Curufinwe_wins]

Obviously most people know me as an Apple hater, but look at that list...

 

A shorter one (empty-set) might be who didnt do that.

 

Further investigation is a good idea, both with proportionality of forced labor, and investigating knowledge by these companies (if it existed) of such labor sources.

[RejZoR]

@Sauron

It's not like there is tons of companies with manufacturing capacities liek Foxconn that could just be easily opted for. For example, Apple has massive demands and I don't think anyone else would be able to meet their demands. It's why Foxconn doesn't give a damn, because they know they can get away with it because of their dominance on the market.

[Sauron]

4 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

It's not like there is tons of companies with manufacturing capacities liek Foxconn that could just be easily opted for.

Weren't you saying earlier that demand creates supply? Obviously it can't be an instantaneous process where companies simultaneously just choose another manufacturer, but if there was any shared will among these companies to do so it would get done. We're talking about entities with hundreds of billions to work with.

7 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

For example, Apple has massive demands and I don't think anyone else would be able to meet their demands.

Samsung makes a lot more devices and does so in house. Now that's not to say Samsung is innocent in all of this, in fact they're on the list - but let's not pretend Apple couldn't meet Foxconn's capacity if they wanted to.

[Aimi]

2 hours ago, Sauron said:

In case anyone needed a reminder that corporations - all of them - not only don't give a fuck about human rights but actively encourage abuse.

I mean, this is also literally how Chinese law works

You can pin this on corporations all you like but to be quite frank, this is also because China is a total hellhole for even basic rights

[Sauron]

Just now, Aimi said:

You can pin this on corporations all you like but to be quite frank, this is also because China is a total hellhole for even basic rights

Why do you think China is like that? It's a developing nation that built its growth upon appealing to western corporations looking for cheap labor.

[Aimi]

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

Why do you think China is like that? It's a developing nation that built its growth upon appealing to western corporations looking for cheap labor.

Yeah I'm sure all those human rights violations are really the west's fault

Don't be stupid

[Sauron]

Just now, Aimi said:

Yeah I'm sure all those human rights violations are really the west's fault

All of them? No. These in particular? Yes. Well, not "the west" - western capital interest.

[FakeCIA]

It has been known for years by those in the law enforcement community that Apple and other companies were sourcing cheap labor through illegal or unregulated mines and manufacturing plants. Some were known, some were not. Even though they are not a tech company, Nike is notorious for having labor camps in the central African region, southern South American region, the northern Amazonian region, and the Caribbean. Intel addressed this in an earlier LTT video and they are partnered with the United Nations in several anti-human trafficking coalitions and war recovery efforts. This isn't a new subject that is a surprise to anybody. If this is a surprise for you, I recommend doing your research. One good place to start is here: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/fields/328.html#BH

 

This video from Al Jazeera, a publishing company owned by the Qatari government, details illegal mining and sex trafficking in South America. Viewer discretion advised.

My opinion: This is why I don't buy from Apple or Nike. Anything I do buy, if I find it was made by them, I immediately bring it to the nearest recycling plant, doesn't matter how new or how much I need it. It could the nicest smartphone ever with all the features I want, but I will throw it in the trash if this is going on behind the scenes. The human life of others is more important than whether I'm entertained.

Edited March 4, 2020 by FakeCIA
Added Video and Added Comments