TikTok executive refuses requests to acknowledge China’s treatment of Uyghurs
In an interview with CNN, a TikTok executive refused multiple times to acknowledge China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, which the US State Department has labeled a genocide.
Driving Force - Automotive Supply Chains and Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region
This report is the result of a six-month investigation analysing publicly available documents, which revealed massive and expanding links between western car brands and Uyghur abuses.
Passively Funding Crimes Against Humanity
This report by Hong Kong Watch explores how many firms on three major global index funds actively use Uyghur forced labor or source from suppliers that do.
US ban on imports from China's Xinjiang region takes effect
Tough new US regulations on the import of goods from the Xinjiang region of China have come into effect. Under the rules, firms have to prove imports from the region are not produced using forced labour. The restrictions will be extended to all imports under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which took effect on Tuesday.
Xinjiang cotton found in Adidas, Puma and Hugo Boss tops, researchers say
Researchers say they have found traces of Xinjiang cotton in shirts and T-shirts made by Adidas, Puma and Hugo Boss, appearing to contradict the German clothing companies’ promises to revise their supply chains after allegations of widespread forced labour in the Chinese region.
Amazon is reportedly using Chinese suppliers with ties to forced labor
Amazon is allegedly employing suppliers in China with links to forced labor, according to a report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP). The report accuses Amazon of continuing to work with these suppliers, despite evidence of their association with Uyghur labor camps.
Hugo Boss And Other Big Brands Vowed To Steer Clear Of Forced Labor In China — But These Shipping Records Raise Questions
Amid rising tensions and the approaching Beijing Olympics, the US banned Xinjiang cotton last year. But Hugo Boss still took shipments from Esquel, which gins cotton in Xinjiang.
Elon Musk: Tesla criticised after opening Xinjiang showroom
Electric car maker Tesla has been criticised in the US after opening a showroom in China's controversial Xinjiang region. The company, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, opened the showroom in the city of Urumqi on New Year's Eve.
Amazon silenced criticism of Xi to do business in China: Report
Amazon’s efforts to curry favor with the Chinese government included quieting criticism of President Xi Jinping’s book on its Chinese outlet, according to a Reuters report.
Laundering Cotton: How Xinjiang Cotton is Obscured in International Supply Chains
An investigation into how forced-labor-produced cotton and cotton-based goods from the Uyghur Region wend their way into international supply chains. Based on international trade and customs data, the report concludes that at the same time as Xinjiang cotton has come to be associated with human rights abuses and to be considered high risk for international brands, China's cotton industry has benefited from an export strategy that obscures cotton's origin in the Uyghur Region.
Big Brands Face a $110 billion dilemma with the Beijing Olympics
In response to questions from Bloomberg about involvement in the 2022 Olympics, Omega said: “As a global brand, we are certainly aware of international tensions and monitor them carefully.… We sincerely believe that the Olympic Games is a perfect opportunity to meet on common ground in the spirit of unity.” Airbnb told Bloomberg that, “We believe China is an important part of our mission to connect people from around the world and from different backgrounds, now more than ever.”
Olympics Sponsors in Spotlight as Games Loom
The International Olympic Committee’s major corporate sponsors should explain publicly how they are using their leverage to address human rights abuses in China ahead of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, Human Rights Watch said today. Sponsors should also press the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to adopt a human rights policy to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for any adverse human rights impacts across all Olympic operations and events, including for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
Winter Olympics top sponsors ‘silent’ over China’s human rights record
Corporate sponsors of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics have been accused of “squandering the opportunity” to pressure China to address its “appalling human rights record”. The Games’ top level sponsors, including Coca-Cola, Airbnb, Procter & Gamble, Intel and Visa, were on Friday accused of ignoring China’s alleged “crimes against humanity against Uyghurs” and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang as well the repression of free speech in Hong Kong.
Swedish Ericsson connected to forced labor factory in China
New evidence shows that the Swedish networking and telecommunications company Ericsson has been doing business with a Chinese factory accused of using the Uighur Muslims minority for forced labor. Swedish media GT has uncovered hidden documents that show that Ericsson has been a customer at the criticized factory.
Xinjiang forced labour: Retailers face legal action in Germany
In September, a human rights group filed a complaint to German prosecutors alleging that five retailers, including C&A, Lidl, and HUGO BOSS, profited from forced labour in Xinjiang. Following an investigation, the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) submitted a case that also targeted two supermarket chains, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd. Miriam Saage-Maass of the ECCHR said there was plenty of evidence to suggest forced labour was taking place.
Muslim-American coalition calls for Hilton boycott over planned hotel on Uyghur mosque
Over 40 Muslim-American civil rights NGOs announced their campaign calling for the boycott of Hilton Worldwide over plans to build a hotel on the site of a mosque destroyed by Chinese authorities in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In July, a bipartisan US congressional commission called on Hilton Worldwide not to allow its name to be associated with the hotel project.
Retail chains remove Chinese surveillance technology from shelves
Three major retail chains announced that they would no longer sell video surveillance hardware from companies linked to human rights abuses. Home Depot, Lowe's, and Best Buy announced that they had removed all surveillance technology made by Chinese companies Lorex and Ezviz due to their connections.
Uyghurs for Sale: ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang
(First published 1 March 2020) The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 82 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen.
US electronics firm struck deal to transport and hire Uyghur workers
U.S. remote-control maker Universal Electronics Inc (UEIC.O) told Reuters it struck a deal with authorities in Xinjiang to transport hundreds of Uyghur workers to its plant in the southern Chinese city of Qinzhou, the first confirmed instance of an American company participating in a transfer program described by some rights groups as forced labor.