A new report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute alleges that Beijing is using Uyghur prison labor in factories producing goods for Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By\u00a0Matthew Gault<\/a>04 March 2020, 1:53pm https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en_in\/article\/939z87\/report-your-gadgets-are-made-by-re-education-camp-prisoners-in-china?fbclid=IwAR0r_0vpk1R9TjKTUo2UelhH7Zh9zOLVskE-Rc54YKhWL9bTvkcg4-EP5KY<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n This article originally appeared on VICE US.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thousands of forced laborers from the oppressed Uyghur minority are working in factories across China and building electronics for Apple, Samsung, Nintendo, Microsoft and others, according to a new report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute<\/a> (ASPI), an independent think-tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report conservatively estimates that around 80,000 people, mostly Uyghurs\u2014a Muslim ethnic minority in western China that has been subject to oppression from Beijing\u2014were forcibly moved from Xinjiang province to work in factories between 2017 and 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 83 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uyghurs have lived in brutal conditions in China for years. The almost 12 million strong population<\/a> lives mostly in China\u2019s Xinjiang region where, for the past few years, the government has rounded them up and placed them in \u201cre-education camps\u201d<\/a> where they\u2019re not allowed to practice their religion and drilled on Chinese Communist Party ideology<\/a>. The goal, according to leaked documents<\/a>, is the transformation of Uyghurs into loyal citizens of the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Forced labor in other provinces is, according to ASPI\u2019s report, a new part of that transformative process. The ASPI used a combination of interviews, satellite footage, social media posts, local newspaper reports, and other publicly available information to document the transfer of people from Xinjiang to factories across China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In just one of the report\u2019s examples, Beijing transferred 1,200 Uyghur laborers from detention camps in Xinjiang to a factory run by a Chinese firm called O-Film in 2017. Local press reported on the influx of workers<\/a>. \u201cThe workers were expected to \u2018gradually alter their ideology\u2019 and turn into \u2018modern, capable youth\u2019 who \u2018understand the Party\u2019s blessing, feel gratitude toward the Party, and contribute to stability,\u2019 a local Xinjiang newspaper wrote<\/a>,\u201d said the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n O-Film manufactures pieces of the camera for Apple\u2019s iPhone along with other products for Samsung, Dell, Microsoft, and Amazon. \u201cApple is dedicated to ensuring that everyone in our supply chain is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,\u201d Apple spokesman Josh Rosenstock told The Washington Post<\/em> in response to the ASPI report<\/a>. \u201cWe have not seen this report but we work closely with all our suppliers to ensure our high standards are upheld.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMicrosoft is committed to responsible and ethical sourcing,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. “We take this responsibility very seriously and take significant steps to enforce our policies and code of conduct in support of human rights, labor, health and safety, environmental protection, and business ethics through our assurance program. All forms of forced labor are specifically banned by our Supplier Code of Conduct. We are investigating the claims and will take appropriate action if breaches of our code of conduct exist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conditions for Uyghurs working across China are terrible. According to The Washington Post\u2019s<\/em> reporting<\/a>\u2060\u2014which focused on a shoe factory supplying Nike in Laixi, China\u2060\u2014\u2060\u2014after their shifts, workers have a certain amount of freedom of movement but they\u2019re constantly monitored by security officers and camera systems using facial recognition. They are not allowed to return home to Xinjiang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to The Washington Post<\/em><\/a>, in the shoe factory, watchtowers with cameras walls topped with barbed wire. The Uyghurs often don\u2019t speak Mandarin and are physically separated from their fellow workers. The goal, according to posters on the wall and party officials, is to integrate the Uyghurs into Chinese society.ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor every batch [of workers] that is trained, a batch of employment will be arranged and a batch will be transferred. Those employed need to receive thorough ideological education and remain in their jobs,\u201d said a Chinese government report quoted in ASPI\u2019s report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n