Kids May Be Using Laptops Made with Forced Labor This Fall | Hacker News Reader

Kids May Be Using Laptops Made with Forced Labor This Fall

theintercept.com

29 pointskarinakarina6 comments

It will pair well with their clothes and accessories made with forced labor

Would "slave labor" be more correct? Do the people get paid? Is it enough to have disposable income? Should we call it an alternative phrase anyway? Would this idea evoke more emotions and empathy for change?

I do not know the answers. Hoping someone else knows more than I and can inform a discussion.

According to the ASPI report on the subject, "Receiving factories across China are also compensated by the Xinjiang government, receiving a Ұ1,000 (US$144.16) cash inducement for each worker they contract for a year, and Ұ5,000 (US$720.80) for a three-year contract." https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyghurs-sale

If those Uyghurs were unpaid labor, I don't think that would be necessary. On the other hand, it's unlikely that factories pay their Uyghur workers more than market rate, so most likely the owners are just pocketing the subsidy.

The article seems to suggest a boycott on products made by Uyghurs, which sounds like a way to maintain ideological purity while making the problem worse (usually boycotts are intended to harm the boycotted...) I think it would be a better idea to use unannounced factory inspections to ensure a minimum standard for working conditions.

Reminder that ASPI are not an independent think tank, they are funded by the US State Dept, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and a whole host of weapons manufacturers.

I would really prefer to wait for the UN Human Rights commissioner to visit the region, but she still hasn't gone despite having an open invitation for over a year now.

June 2019: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-rights-un-idUSKCN1T...

Feb 2020: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-xinjiang-rights-idU...

Still no visit.

Prominent Australians On ASPI:

> Former NSW premier Bob Carr has accused it of pumping out a “one-sided, pro-American view of the world”. Veteran foreign editor Tony Walker has slammed its "dystopian worldview" which "leaves little room for viewing China as a potential partner". "It lacks integrity and brings shame to Australia," says retired former DFAT chief and ex-Qantas CEO John Menadue.

https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/the-think-tank-be...

I'm well aware that ASPI isn't an unbiased source... which is why I picked that quote, since it runs counter to their biases. (It also contradict the title of the report "Uyghurs for sale", since in a sale you'd expect the money to flow the other direction.) If two opposing propaganda machines agree on something, that doesn't necessarily make it true, but it's better than when only one of them says so.

Wow, I didn't know that they were giving kids Apple laptops.

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