"I don't know... I do realize some bad stuff goes on in the world, but really, the 300 people threatening suicide were doing so over a dispute regarding termination benefits, not working conditions. I really don't think the majority of these 300 workers ever had any intention of killing themselves. I think they were using the media and international scrutiny against Foxxconn to get what they wanted. I think that's what China (and the world) needs more than anything--people standing up for themselves, even if the way they went about it was morbidly unconventional by our cultural standards.
There were 17 suicides by Foxxconn employees previously, I believe, and that's what gave these guys the leverage they needed in this more recent situation. However, to understand the context of that number, you have to understand the scope of Foxxconn--they employ over a million people, half a million in the Shenzhen plant. 17 out of a million is a tradgedy, don't get me wrong--even one suicide out of a million is--but that is roughly 4 times less than China's national average and about 10 times less than the US national average among males.
There's also no way to condone torturing someone over a missing iPhone design or chip architecture or whatever it was. It's tragic that a young person can't properly use his hands anymore because of repetative work. But I don't think these problems are exclusive to China or the tech manufacturing industry. In the end, I agree with your suggestions. Raising awareness is probably the best thing anyone could do; if no one knows there's a problem, it can't possibly be fixed."
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There were 17 suicides by Foxxconn employees previously, I believe, and that's what gave these guys the leverage they needed in this more recent situation. However, to understand the context of that number, you have to understand the scope of Foxxconn--they employ over a million people, half a million in the Shenzhen plant. 17 out of a million is a tradgedy, don't get me wrong--even one suicide out of a million is--but that is roughly 4 times less than China's national average and about 10 times less than the US national average among males.
There's also no way to condone torturing someone over a missing iPhone design or chip architecture or whatever it was. It's tragic that a young person can't properly use his hands anymore because of repetative work. But I don't think these problems are exclusive to China or the tech manufacturing industry. In the end, I agree with your suggestions. Raising awareness is probably the best thing anyone could do; if no one knows there's a problem, it can't possibly be fixed."