China

LabourStart (28 May 2010 - present)
China: Suicides at Foxconn, supplier to Apple and other international brands
http://www.labourstart.org/foxconn

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SUMMARY

China: Suicides at Foxconn, supplier to Apple and other international brands

It's been dubbed the "suicide express" by Chinese media. Twelve workers, all between 18 and 24 years old, have committed suicide, at the production facilities of Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwan-owned enterprise based in Shenzhen, southern China.

Foxconn shuts the door when NGOs demand for corrective actions

25 May 2010

Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) and other labour NGOs staged a protest outside Foxconn’s Hong Kong headquarters this morning to express our concerns over the high number of suicides at its factories. Disgracefully, Foxconn did not use the opportunity to make a public account on the issue, but shut its door to the protesters. Furthermore, Foxconn called the security guards and police to “receive” us.

Appeal by Sociologists:
Address to the Problems of New Generations of Chinese Migrant Workers,
End to Foxconn Tragedy Now
18th May 2010

Since January of this year at the Foxconn Group, nine workers have already attempted suicide by jumping from buildings, resulting in the tragic death of seven, with two injured. Why would these young people, roughly all in their twenties, choose to leave this world in life’s most beautiful time? This loss of life is so distressing, and makes us think deeply about the new problems of the second generation of migrant workers and the status of China as the “world’s factory.”

A newly-installed safety net between dormitory buildings to prevent employees from attempting suicide by jumping off the rooftop—can it really help save lives?

[photo by Students & Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM)]

Introduction

Since the beginning of 2010, a startling ten Foxconn employees in Shenzhen tried to end their lives. Eight died, while two survived their injuries. All were between 18 and 25 years old—in the prime of their youth—and their loss should awaken wider society to reflect upon the costs of a development model that sacrifices dignity for economic growth.

Hong Kong In-Media: Submission to Legislative Council Subcommittee Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting

Introduction:

Hong Kong In-Media strongly believes that Public Broadcasting should be independent to ensure the freedom of speech and expression in Hong Kong. The recommendations put forward by Government in the "Future operation of the Radio Television of Hong Kong (RTHK) and new RTHK Charter" has ignored the fundamental suggestion put forward by the "Committee on Review of Public Service Broadcasting" that a "truly independent public broadcaster should be developed" in Hong Kong. We therefore express our our disappointment and regret towards such misleading consultation.

Editor note: below is a translation of Beijing News' interview with Hu Yong, a Beijing University Professor, on the potential of micro-blogging in political engagement in China.

The potential of Microblogging to become a milestone

If the BBS was the first milestone, then microblogging certainly has the potential to become the second. The meaning behind the microblog becoming a milestone, is in the way it spreads information.

BJ News: You have long been concerned about the development of the Internet; how do you view this emerging microblogging communication tool?

What could we learn from Google's withdrawal in China? Evan Williams, the co-founder and CEO of Twitter, had an idea. "We are partially blocked in China and other places and we were in Iran as well," he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "The most productive way to fight that is not by trying to engage China and other governments whose very being is against what we are about." Moreover, Williams mentioned that Twitter is now developing technology to prevent government censorship. In fact, Twitter runs across multiple mediums including the Internet and mobile devices, as well as modify the Hosts file, use Tweeter tool to set up their own Twitter API and use Dabr and other third-party sites and softwares, secure their advantage over a singular website to avoid government censorship.

Google's official announcement regarding its new approach to China has been escalated to the diplomatic exchange between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chinese officials, who denied any role in the attacks.

Although the decision may be business in nature, Google's market share in China is not big while there are more and more political risks in keeping their business in China. The 10 years sentence of mainland Chinese journalist Shi Tao is the most well known case in which Yahoo! (Hong Kong) provided the Chinese government with Shi's email information as evidence for the prosecution.