Some of at least 27 factories staffed by former detainees supply prominent Western brands
of last year the Communist Party decided to deflect some of the international opprobrium it was earning because of its vast network of detention facilities in the western region of Xinjiang. Since 2017 perhaps 1m Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim group indigenous to the area, have been thrown into the prison camps, which are officially referred to as vocational-training centres. Offences include even the most innocuous forms of piety, such as sporting long beards.
Where are they now? A report published on March 1st by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute , a think-tank in Canberra, reveals that some former detainees in Xinjiang have swapped one form of coercion for another, and have been obliged to go work in other provinces. In 2017-19, the study found, more than 80,000 Uighurs were shipped out of Xinjiang to take jobs in factories across China under conditions that “strongly suggest forced labour”.
Vicky Xu, the study’s lead author, found that at least 27 factories in nine provinces benefit from this labour-transfer scheme. Many are links in supply chains of prominent Western brands like Apple, Dell, Mercedes-Benz and Nike. Not all such companies may be aware of this, since big multinationals are unlikely to deal directly with every subcontractor.
China’s government openly admits that it arranges for the transfer of “surplus” Uighur workers in Xinjiang to the rest of China. The scheme, meant to reduce poverty, is known as “Xinjiang Aid”. Factories in wealthy coastal provinces, which tend to be short of labour, offer higher wages than most forms of manual work in Xinjiang, a poorer region. The government insists that participation in the programme is entirely voluntary.
A recent online ad for “government-sponsored” Uighur labour posted by an agent affiliated to Xinjiang’s government extols the benefits of hiring Uighurs. One such benefit is the “semi-military style of management”, says the posting. That is because a “government-appointed companion” is required to live on-site for every 50-100 Uighurs, the agent explains.
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