Earlier this week, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) released a report – “Uyghurs for sale” – which described the process by which China’s government was said to have set up the mass transfer of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities from Xinjiang to factories across China in a forced labor scheme.

More than anything else, I urge everyone to read and download the ASPI report, because the notes and citations greatly expand on actual write-up. 

If you can only spare a few minutes though, I’d like to discuss what the ASPI found in the report as it relates to technology, because it’s a reminder that technological and scientific advancements do not exist in a bubble. 

What’s the problem?

The ASPI report discussed how Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities appear to have been placed in forced labor situations to help in the supply chains of major players in the technology, clothing, and automobile sectors.

ASPI said it found “27 factories in 9 Chinese provinces that are using Uyghur labor transferred from Xinjiang since 2017. Those factories claim to be part of the supply chain of 83 well-known global brands.”

From the 83 brands listed in the report as being connected to those factories using forced labor, the following are from the tech sector:

• Acer
• Amazon
• Apple
• ASUS
• Cisco
• Dell
• Electrolux
• General Electric
• Google
• Hisense 
• Hitachi
• HP
• HTC
• Huawei
• iFlyTek
• Lenovo
• LG
• Meizu 
• Microsoft 
• Mitsumi
• Nintendo
• Nokia
• Oculus
• Oppo
• Panasonic
• Samsung
• Sharp
• Siemens
• Sony
• TDK
• Toshiba
• Tsinghua Tongfang
• Vivo
• Xiaomi
• ZTE

While there’s no easy way of knowing if your iPhone was made with the help of forced labor, the idea of it as a possibility should make your stomach churn.

The nature of forced labor

There are some indicators of forced labor as outlined by the International Labor Organization that fit the situation in China: 

• Being subject to intimidation and threats – including threats of arbitrary detention or potential monitoring by security personnel or digital surveillance
• Being placed in a vulnerable or dependent situation – this includes threats to family members in Xinjiang so that the forced laborer continues working
• Curtailment of freedom of movement – these include physical barriers liked fenced-in factories or more subtle barriers like the above-mentioned digital surveillance
• Isolation – this includes living in segregated dormitories or being transported via dedicated trains  
• Abusive work conditions – these include instances of political indoctrination or having guard posts in factories and other forms of “military-style” management,  as well as banning religious practices.
• Having excessive hours – these include the addition of after-work Mandarin language classes and political indoctrination sessions as part of assignments related to the job

ASPI described these further in the report.

The Uyghur workers, referred to as “surplus labor” or poverty-stricken labor,” are transported in segregated trains to work and then back to their homes after their contracts are completed. 

Among other issues, the Uyghur workers are paid less, tracked digitally or given minders, and are not allowed to practice their religion. They also have to take “patriotic education” as part of their jobs, which adds on to their working hours.

The report had a number of case studies as well, including one in which Apple CEO Tim Cook visited one of its Chinese iPhone contractors, O-Film Technology Co. Ltd., which is implicated as using forced labor.

Questions needing answers 

The ASPI report asked a hard question, one in which the answers will likely depend on how well companies see people as people and just how well China can accept criticism from outside sources.

How do companies – regardless of their business sector – “secure the integrity of their supply chains and protect their brands from the reputational and legal risks of being associated with forced, discriminatory, or abusive labor practices?”

Some companies may be guilty of enabling forced labor, but some others may not even know it is happening due to the nature of how the supply chain works. 

The reality though is “some workers employed through labor transfer schemes at factories across China are sourced directly from the ‘re-education camps’ in Xinjiang.” They may also be former detainees forced to work under threats of detention or due to intimidation against their families.

“The tainted global supply chain that results from these practices means that it is now difficult to guarantee that products manufactured in China are free from forced labor,” the report went on to say.

Moving forward by taking a step back

While it may be a simple solution to just reject Uyghur or Chinese labor, that likely won’t solve the systemic issue at hand. 

ASPI recommends a more nuanced, long-term approach to stamping out forced labor, but it requires stakeholders to actively participate in ensuring it doesn’t happen.

In addition to ensuring human rights are properly upheld in the country, ASPI recommends China open up its factories and grant access to multinational companies to investigate labor practices in the country. 

China should also ratify the ILO’s International Labour Standards, in addition to setting up a grievance mechanism that would allow for investigations into forced labor instances, prosecuting those involved while giving protection and remedies to victims.

ASPI also recommends upholding the legitimate rights of its citizens. These include the ethnic and religious rights of people in the country, as part of the Chinese Constitution.

Companies, meanwhile, should investigate probable instances of forced labor in its supply chain, then leverage the company’s clout to pressure factories in their supply chain to stop the practice.

Foreign governments should also not be complacent, as ASPI recommends they put their influence into play. The report recommended foreign governments “increase pressure on the Chinese government to end the use and facilitation of Uyghur forced labour and mass extrajudicial detention” by prepping targeted sanctions where applicable.

As for consumers, if you want to move forward and buy that new gadget, you may want to take a step back and do some additional legwork. 

Specifically, team up with labor groups to demand companies manufacturing in China do the above-mentioned investigating of their supply chains and push companies to be more transparent about the supply chains they use. Urge companies to commit to the ideal of not engaging in forced labor practices anywhere. 

Furthermore, call them out if there are proven instances of forced labor occuring, while demanding they commit to not using forced labor or remedying such instances in their supply chains if it’s confirmed to be occurring. 

There are no easy answers when it comes to technological advancements done without regard for people and ethical behavior. It takes a concerted effort to stamp out bad actors and in this case, it requires everyone to watch out and have each other’s backs – even if we aren’t directly impacted ourselves by labor issues like this. – Rappler.com