Results tagged “foxconn”

We all know that the Apple heads at Silicon Valley are responsible for the iconic aesthetic presentation and minimalist technical specifications of the iPod, but we think much less about where its low price comes from. Recently, however, we've been pretty startlingly reminded that there are laborers actually responsible for assembling these iPods, sometimes in substandard working conditions that might help cut costs, despite the compromise in ethics.

The 25-year-old Foxconn employee who killed himself after being interrogated about a missing iPhone prototype had demonstrated a pattern of suspiciously losing products, according to the New York Times. James Lee, GM of Foxconn's China operations, said that several times products had gone missing and then he got them back. Oh. Well then. We guess the solitary confinement and searching his home and alleged beating was justified. NOT. Dear Foxconn, if your employee is acting out of line, you give them a warning and then fire them. Nothing justifies acting like thugs towards them, and any attempts to sully his name after the fact stinks as much as the $44,000 and Apple laptop you paid to his family in blood money. Source: Apple Insider

• Eclipse at Sheshan Hill [The Atlantic] "The forested slopes of Sheshan Hill rise a hundred meters above the plains of once rural, now suburban, Songjiang District in the southwest corner of sprawling Shanghai. At the top, China’s only Catholic basilica - an eighty-year old red brick building with an onion dome - is flanked on one side by the white dome of a modern telescope, and on the other by the century-old buildings that constitute the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory. Most mornings, the hilltop is silent but for a handful of priests and a few locals willing to climb the old stone stairways to go to mass. But this morning was a bit different: Sheshan was in the path of the century’s longest eclipse, and the local media had recommended it as one of three ideal locations for watching the event."
• In China, a Rocky Ascent for Basketball [NYT] "With 1.3 billion potential fans, China is increasingly seen as a financial promised land for N.B.A. stars through endorsement deals, and the league itself has established a robust organization here valued at $2 billion. But China’s own professional league, the Chinese Basketball Association, has hardly enjoyed a smooth ascendance alongside this country’s basketball boom. American players and agents describe broken contracts, unpaid wages, suspicions of game-fixing and rising resentment toward foreign players. Several players have left China after failing to receive paychecks. Last month, the league announced that it lost $17 million last season, which ended in May."
• Sweeping Africa under the rug: where is China in Darfur? [The Carter Center] "Given the importance of China's financial ties to Sudan, many in the international community have expected China to play a much larger role in the Darfur peace process. Development aid from China goes directly into the hands of President Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party, which has been accused of war crimes relating to the Darfur crisis. Consequently, the Chinese government's practices run contrary to their ideology."

Apple has confirmed the unfortunate suicide of the 25-year-old Foxconn employee we reported on yesterday. Sun Dayong, the deceased, was suspected to have been subjected to "unbearable interrogation techniques" after an iPhone prototype under his care went missing. This is believed to have led him to commit suicide. Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told CNET that Apple was "saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death... We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect." Source: Gizmodo

Rumors are swelling that some parties may have taken Apple's secrecy policy to the extreme, causing one 25-year-old employee at Foxconn, the manufacturing company for the iPhone, to commit suicide.

Photo from fiverlocker.