Airbnb asked to drop Olympic ties over China rights issues
Airbnb Inc. is being asked to drop its sponsorship connections to next year’s Beijing’s Winter Olympics by a coalition of 150 human-rights campaigners. The coalition is headed by groups that oppose rights violations in China including the detention of Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.
U.S. ban on China’s Xinjiang cotton fractures fashion industry supply chains
Last month, Chinese cotton yarn maker Huafu Fashion sent a warning to investors. “Multiple American brands have canceled orders,” Huafu said in a Shenzhen stock exchange filing, citing U.S. sanctions. “It’s brought negative effects to the company.” Huafu — which said it lost at least $54.3 million last year vs. a net profit of $62.5 million in 2019 — is one of the few suppliers to publicly acknowledge the sanctions’ effects. But thousands of companies worldwide are affected after the United States blacklisted 87 percent of China’s cotton crop — one-fifth of the world’s supply — citing human rights violations against Muslim Uighurs in China’s northwest Xinjiang region.
12 Japan firms will kill business deals involving Uyghur forced labor
Twelve major Japanese companies have established a policy of ceasing business deals with Chinese companies found to benefit from the forced labor of the Muslim Uyghur minority in China's far-western Xinjiang region, a Kyodo News investigation showed Sunday. With the exception of Panasonic Corp., which declined to comment, all companies either denied directly doing business with companies suspected of benefiting from forced labor or said they could not verify the claims against their suppliers. In terms of future policy, 12 companies responded that they would cease or consider ceasing business with business partners found to be using forced labor.
Reformation Statement on Xinjiang
“We’ve signed onto the Call to Action by The Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur region. The Coalition’s Call to Action is endorsed by over 300 civil society organizations and labour groups who want to end human rights abuses against Uyghur people.”
Bosch considers dumping Dahua cameras after biometric ethnicity-warning revelations
Bosch is a major vendor of Dahua-made cameras, though it ceased using the company for its U.S. products after the U.S. placed sanctions on the camera-maker in 2019. Now the company has issued a statement noting that its suppliers must adhere to a Code of Conduct, which includes the ten principles of the UN Global Compact.
How Oracle Sells Repression in China
In its bid for TikTok, Oracle was supposed to prevent data from being passed to Chinese police. Instead, it’s been marketing its own software for their surveillance work.
VW boss Diess defends production in the Chinese province of Xinjiang
The VW Group has once again defended its business in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, despite reports of human rights violations. “We stand by our commitment in China, also in Xinjiang," said CEO Herbert Diess. "The presence of the company contributes more to improving the situation for people than turning them away”.
ASOS's response to the Foreign Affairs Committee's request for further detail on ASOS's approach to sourcing from the XUAR
ASOS's response to the Foreign Affairs Committee's request for further detail on ASOS's approach to sourcing from the XUAR.
Amazon questioned over contract with company that offered ‘real-time Uighur warnings
Amazon.com Inc. faces questions from senators over a reported contract with Dahua, a Chinese security camera company that indicated it has the ability to alert police when its facial recognition software identifies members of the Uighur ethnic group.
Coscto Dodges Allegations That Its Supply Chain Main Utilize Slave Labor
Costco leaders sidestepped suggestions yesterday that the company’s Chinese supply chain may involve Uyghur Muslim slave labor. Craig Jelinek, CEO of the big box wholesaler, instead offered no explicit denial of the forced labor accusation, while claiming the company has internal methods to handle the issue.
Marks & Spencer calls halt to forced labour in Xinjiang
Marks & Spencer is one of the first major brands to join the movement that is calling to end forced labour in the cotton and garment industry in the region of Xinjiang, China.
Huawei patent mentions use of Uighur-spotting tech
A Huawei patent has been brought to light for a system that identifies people who appear to be of Uighur origin among images of pedestrians. The filing is one of several of its kind involving leading Chinese technology companies, discovered by a US research company and shared with BBC News. Huawei had previously said none of its technologies was designed to identify ethnic groups.
Nintendo Investigated Report Of Forced Uighur Labor
During Nintendo’s most recent shareholder meeting, the company’s president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about ASPI's report. “We as a company are aware of the news report that Uighurs might have been forced into labor at factories in our supply chain,” he replied. “However, as for the factory identified in the report, as far as we investigated, we could not confirm records of it being one of our business partners.”
Britain's M&S backs call to stop forced labour in China's Xinjiang
British retailer Marks & Spencer on Wednesday became one of the first major brands to back a drive to stop forced labour in cotton and garment sourcing from China’s Xinjiang region.
The founder of Charles Tyrwhitt explains why his company doesn’t make shirts in China
Charles Tyrwhitt is curtailing production in China after receiving customer pressure. The contract with a cotton supplier in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ended in July, reducing the number of shirts manufactured in China. “We are responding to customer demands,” Wheeler said. “Many customers say they don’t want to make shirts in China.”
Apple supplier Lens Technology accused of using forced Uighur labor
A major Chinese supplier of consumer electronics components, Lens Technology, has been accused of using forced-labor Uighur workers from the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang, China, according to a report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) shared with The Verge.
PC Manufacturers Apple, Lenovo, Sony, Dell & ASUS Face Human Abuse Bans
Lenovo, Dell ASUS, Hewlett Packard, Samsung, Sony, and Apple are just some of the technology brands facing global PC shortages because of their association with Chinese manufacturers linked with human abuse. All of these Companies are selling to retailers in Australia who claim that they are monitoring brands accused of using ‘slave labour’ to manufacture components for technology products.
Nike and Coca-Cola Lobby Against Xinjiang Forced Labor Bill
Business groups and major companies like Apple have been pressing Congress to alter legislation cracking down on imports of goods made with forced labor from persecuted Muslim minorities in China.
Apple is lobbying against a bill aimed at stopping forced labor in China
Apple wants to water down key provisions of the bill, which would hold U.S. companies accountable for using Uighur forced labor, according to two congressional staffers.