A string of suicides at Foxconn Technology Group has raised concerns about conditions for workers at one of China’s most prolific factories — a massive complex that churns out iPods, iPads, Dell computers and numerous other big-selling gadgets.
The latest suicide, which happened early on Friday, was the eighth reported at the factory this year. A ninth suicide at a separate Foxconn factory was also reported on Friday.
The official Xinhua News Agency quoted police as saying migrant worker Nan Gang (南剛), 21, jumped from a four-story building about half-an-hour after finishing a night shift at the company’s vast complex in the southern city of Shenzhen. It was unclear if Nan, who worked in the logistics department, was motivated by work-related issues.
Labor activists have long alleged that Foxconn factories are hellish places to work — where employees face tremendous pressure and harsh discipline for mistakes. Rights investigators, however, acknowledge the suicides could be linked to other personal factors, such as failed romances or career disappointments in China’s increasingly competitive society.
Foxconn is part of Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry — a corporate behemoth that has also produced computers for Hewlett-Packard, PlayStation game consoles for Sony and mobile phones for Nokia. Its Shenzhen complex employs 300,000 people.
Notorious for its secrecy, the company did not immediately comment on the latest fatality. Earlier this month, when a 24-year-old worker jumped to her death, a company spokesman did not explain why the worker died, but said that employees enjoy world-class treatment and that Foxconn’s social responsibility programs ensure their welfare.
After that suicide, Foxconn did not respond to reporters’ requests to tour the Shenzhen operations.
Also on Friday, Xinhua reported that another worker, Rong Bo (榮波), 19, leapt off a building and killed himself on Jan. 8 in a Foxconn plant in the northern city of Langfang, Hebei Province. Officials confirmed his death on Friday after relatives reported it to the media, Xinhua said.
It is hard to gauge whether the number of deaths at Foxconn is abnormally high, as there have been no studies about suicide rates for such a population of mostly migrant workers in China. The government and other large factories are traditionally silent about such issues and it is difficult to get figures that can be used for comparison.
In the US, Cornell University in New York State has reported six suicides this academic year at the Ivy League school with a student body of 20,000 — less than 7 percent the size of Foxconn’s workforce. Cornell says its suicide rate over time is normal for colleges.
Li Qiang (李強), founder of New York-based China Labor Watch, said his group has investigated suicides at Foxconn and other factories and has found a range of causes, such as failed romances, unplanned pregnancies, financial pressures or professional dreams that have gone sour.
He said, however, that Foxconn employees have complained in interviews about the length of the 10 to 12 hour shifts they work. The production line moves fast and workers live in fear of making mistakes as military-style managers watch over them in a sterile, joyless environment, he said.
“It is true that Foxconn provides workers with a complaint box and a hotline for psychological assistance, but few workers have ever used any of these channels,” Li wrote in a report published this week. “Some workers are even worried that if they appeal for help, the administrators will deliberately make things more difficult for them.”
As wages continue to rise in China, factories are forced to increase productivity, run leaner operations and squeeze more out of workers. This could be adding to the pressure on China’s workforce.
Anita Chan, a Chinese labor expert at the University of Technology in Sydney, said that Foxconn has struggled to overcome a reputation for bad labor practices.
“In a factory when the discipline is tough, it comes down level-by-level from the top and the shop floor becomes unbearable,” she said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College