China forces workers to create COVID-19 face masks that are shipped across the globe. The New York Times reported that the country is producing face coverings using "Uighur Labor." The Chinese companies were identified after a video obtained by the publication was released, revealing that a contentious labor program for Uighurs to address the demand for P.P.E. (personal protective equipment), which are delivered to other countries, including the United States.
[THREAD] Chinese companies are using Uighur labor to make P.P.E. as the Covid19 pandemic drives up demand. We spent months investigating how the supply chain is connected with a highly controversial labor program. We even traced some masks to the U.S. https://t.co/e5oz643q5a pic.twitter.com/Y9SFmEgRGc — Muyi Xiao (@muyixiao) July 19, 2020
Chinese companies are rushing to produce the gear for domestic and global consumption to drive the demand for PPEs as the global pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus, continues. The NYT's visual investigation found out that Chinese manufacturers are putting people to work against their will in the contentious government-sponsored program.
‘Normally one or two people sleep in one bed, and if the weather is cold,three people sleep together.’ So while the Uighur men are being detained in concentration camps & worked as slave labor to jerk up China’s GDP, their wives & sisters are being gang raped by the Chinazis! pic.twitter.com/Zbl9ouhKj2 — BenTallmadge (@BenKTallmadge) July 16, 2020
The Uighurs are largely Muslim ethnic minority who are mostly living in the Xinjiang region of northwest China. Uighurs and other ethnic minorities, are sent by the Chinese programs into service and factory jobs. According to The New York Times' previous report, the Communist Party wants to supply Chinese factories with cheap labor by remolding Xinjian's minorities into loyal blue-collar workers.
An order was given by the labor bureau of Qapqal, saying that the people in Xinjiang should undergo military-style training to become loyal and obedient laborers. Although the Chinese government claims that the workers are volunteers, critics say that the program forces the workers.
Some Chinese companies are using "Uighur Labor" to export P.P.E.s globally
The report confirmed that the controversial labor is now part of the P.P.E. supply chain. In Xinjiang, only four companies were reported by China's National Medical Products Administration that produced medical grade equipment before the pandemic started. However, the number of companies that produce quality P.P.E. rose to 51 on June 30. TNYT discovered that at least 17 companies are using Uighur Labor, after reviewing the state media reports and public records.
China literally uses slave labor now. And even their "free" workers are treated like disposable objects.
I'd post a myriad of webms of Chinese workshop workers being maimed and killed in extremely unsafe conditions but these suicide nets will have to do.
Also, Uighur genocide. pic.twitter.com/7GbncrEkUB — Neudaiz (@blueneudaiz) July 14, 2020
The companies in the list manufacture medical equipment primarily for domestic use. However, the investigation found that other Chinese manufacturers located outside Xinjiang are also using the controversial labor to export outside the country. The government program is widely publicized in state media to help decrease poverty in China.
Dozens of videos and social media reports, containing the documents about the recent labor transfers, were collected by The Human Rights Investigation Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Uyghur Human Rights Project.
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