The next T-shirt you buy could be made from cotton harvested by forced manual labor in the Chinese territory of Xinjiang. The Chinese government has fiercely retaliated against clothing brands and retailers that posted basic statements of "concern" about alleged human rights abuses in the region. And its strongarm tactics appear to be working. Some of the statements about human rights abuses were deleted from corporate websites. Today, it can be very difficult for consumers to discern which companies continue to use cotton sourced from Xinjiang.
So much of what we buy, I have no doubt, is produced by human rights violators. When corporations use a business model that is exploitative model by nature, it's an almost-inevitable end result.
The West’s obsession with cheap stuff drives the trade in forced labor. Most prefer to turn a blind eye and ignore the extra cost of “union made”. So who’s the guilty party? The consumer is the only party that can stop this.
China has slaves and the rest of the world is like "ehhhh if it affects our bottom line, better not say anything about it and risk offending China" - ridiculously pathetic. As always, actions speak louder than words and you've once again proven the only thing any corporation cares about is their bottom line. When Cruz is up for re-election, I would bet everything I own that he accepts corporate donations. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep track of this and use his own words against him when that happens.
The truth is somewhere in the middle. There are a lot of arbitrary imprisonment, but there are also terrorists (ISIS, Al-Qaeda, etc.) getting caught as well. It's documented by even non-Chinese sources. While reports of abuse sound credible, by themselves do not imply genocide. Similar things can occur in prisons of any countyr, which are terrible but not intentional policies. Many people find China's mandated literacy, birth control, and planned work programs (for the poor/incarcerated) objectionable, but they've been applied across the country in other instances since the 50s. In fact, Uighurs (and a few others) were specifically exempt as a minority until recently. Of course, some authors chose to show only how their birth rates have dropped since 2018/19, while concealing the fact that their birth rates have been multiple times of China's average for almost a century, with some families having 5, 6, 7+ kids. Even now, couples with <3 or 4 kids are exempt from any birth control. Many Uighurs have been working in the cotton industry well before the camps existed, but most cotton workers in Xinjiang were imported from other provinces, because Uighurs don't speak enough Mandarin to communicate with the management. With China's modernization, even manual laborers have been mostly laid off except for temporary/seasonal roles. So the government decided it wants to have more people working in factories with improved language proficiency; otherwise Xinjiang would end up with even higher unemployment. Uighur celebrities are very common (for their relative population size) in China. Many security and government positions in the province are staffed by Uighurs. There are also quotas to fill and bonuses for minorities (like affirmative action in other countries). I think there are abuses going on, but not genocide.
So much of what we buy, I have no doubt, is produced by human rights violators. When corporations use a business model that is exploitative model by nature, it's an almost-inevitable end result.
The West’s obsession with cheap stuff drives the trade in forced labor. Most prefer to turn a blind eye and ignore the extra cost of “union made”. So who’s the guilty party? The consumer is the only party that can stop this.
China has slaves and the rest of the world is like "ehhhh if it affects our bottom line, better not say anything about it and risk offending China" - ridiculously pathetic. As always, actions speak louder than words and you've once again proven the only thing any corporation cares about is their bottom line. When Cruz is up for re-election, I would bet everything I own that he accepts corporate donations. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep track of this and use his own words against him when that happens.
Somebody must like Ted Cruz. He got re-elected (barely). Yet, I have plenty of Republican friends and not one of them can stand him.
Excellent stuff, here's my latest on corporate deadbeats in America https://dianefrancis.substack.com/p/the-republic-of-walmart
The truth is somewhere in the middle. There are a lot of arbitrary imprisonment, but there are also terrorists (ISIS, Al-Qaeda, etc.) getting caught as well. It's documented by even non-Chinese sources. While reports of abuse sound credible, by themselves do not imply genocide. Similar things can occur in prisons of any countyr, which are terrible but not intentional policies. Many people find China's mandated literacy, birth control, and planned work programs (for the poor/incarcerated) objectionable, but they've been applied across the country in other instances since the 50s. In fact, Uighurs (and a few others) were specifically exempt as a minority until recently. Of course, some authors chose to show only how their birth rates have dropped since 2018/19, while concealing the fact that their birth rates have been multiple times of China's average for almost a century, with some families having 5, 6, 7+ kids. Even now, couples with <3 or 4 kids are exempt from any birth control. Many Uighurs have been working in the cotton industry well before the camps existed, but most cotton workers in Xinjiang were imported from other provinces, because Uighurs don't speak enough Mandarin to communicate with the management. With China's modernization, even manual laborers have been mostly laid off except for temporary/seasonal roles. So the government decided it wants to have more people working in factories with improved language proficiency; otherwise Xinjiang would end up with even higher unemployment. Uighur celebrities are very common (for their relative population size) in China. Many security and government positions in the province are staffed by Uighurs. There are also quotas to fill and bonuses for minorities (like affirmative action in other countries). I think there are abuses going on, but not genocide.
Judd and Tesnim, I share your concerns about China's treatment of the Uighur people. However, you may want to reconsider quoting Dr. Adrian Zenz as a reliable source of information on the topic: https://thegrayzone.com/2021/02/18/us-media-reports-chinese-genocide-relied-on-fraudulent-far-right-researcher/.