According to a recent investigation, China is forcing one of the country's ethnic minorities to performforced labor as part of their re-education plans, even participating in the manufacture of devices for Apple, Samsung, Sony, Huaweiand other marks.
Chinese re-education plans would include sending people thousands of miles to work in factories against their will, which make components intended for to various products, including smartphones, tablets and other technology.
Those affected are the Uighurs, a minority living in the Chinese province of Xinjiang and who, unlike the Han ethnic group (90% of the population), traditionally follow Islam.
For years the Communist Party of China, which exercises power in the country, has been accused of creating re-education camps for Uighurs, seeking ethnic uniformity, although censorship makes it difficult to know the scope of the problem.
Now the Australian Foreign Policy Institute, under the Australian administration, has published a detailed report on the use of forced labor by large multinationals, which not only include Apple or Samsung, also to firms such as BMW and Volkswagen.
According to their findings, from 2017 to 2019 a minimum of 80,000 Uyghurs completed their "re-education", and were sent to factories thousands of kilometers away, where they continue to be closely monitored, and even have to attend additional classes at the end of the day.
One of the factories where forced labor has been discovered is O-Film, which made the selfie cameras for iPhones, and where even Tim Cook (Apple's top executive) went on a tour of China.
In fact, Cook uploaded a publication to Weibo, a Chinese social network that replaces Twitter, since the latter is prohibited:
The Australian Foreign Policy Institute's accusations are very serious, and it advises governments, brands and consumers to begin their lobbying on the economic front, which has propelled China in recent years.
Although manufacturers subcontract their production in China for lower costs, companies like Apple or Samsung have the idea of That semi-slavery workers are part of the production chain would not please them, as it would affect their reputation.
While the US-China trade war could be the reason the Australian report was released at this time, abuses of the Uyghur ethnicity have been in the media for a long time, so research on forced labor gains credibility.
In fact, more and more brands are moving production to India or Vietnam, and if these facts were proven, new manufacturers could stop working in Chinaand look for other alternatives.
What do you think of the alleged forced labor? Are you concerned about the working conditions of those who work in the technological production chain?
