Siemens
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(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.
Tech and big data are at the center of the story of "the largest mass internment of an ethnic-religious minority since World War II," the ICIJ wrote. And Munich-based multinational Siemens has connections to one of the companies involved in the gathering of data on the Uighurs. The "Integrated Joint Operation Platform" used to track and evaluate the Uighurs' every move was developed in part by China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), a state-run firm. That firm has dealings with Siemens, a spokesperson for Europe's largest manufacturing company told DW in a statement: Siemens advises CETC on the "intelligent manufacturing solutions" it uses in its production facilities.