If you are one of the
millions of people
around the world wearing
a face mask
because of the
coronavirus pandemic,
this footage may concern you.
It shows a group
of Uighurs arriving
at a textile company that
started producing masks
in response to the pandemic.
The Uighurs are a
long-persecuted,
largely Muslim
ethnic minority.
This slickly produced video
from Chinese state TV
appears to show grateful
workers getting ready
for their new jobs.
But behind this propaganda
is a hidden story
about a longstanding
and highly controversial
government labor program that
experts say often puts people
to work against their will.
We reviewed hundreds
of videos, photos,
government documents
and shipping data to reveal
how the surging demand
for face masks
is linked to this
problematic program.
We identified several
Chinese companies
that use Uighur labor
to produce P.P.E.
And we tracked some
of their shipments
to consumers in the U.S.
and around the world.
“The rural poor that are
being put into factory work
are not going by choice.
There are these
coercive quotas
that cause people to be
put into factory work
when they don’t want to be.
And that could be
considered forced labor
under international law.”
This is all driven by
supply and demand.
Chinese companies have been
rushing to produce masks
as the pandemic spread
across China
and the rest of the world.
In Xinjiang, where a
majority of Uighurs live,
only four companies produced
medical-grade protective
equipment before the pandemic.
Now, that number is 51.
We found that at least
17 of those
participate in the
labor transfer program.
“Any company that
is procuring masks
or other personal
protective equipment
that wants to avoid forced labor
content in those products
should not be sourcing
them from Xinjiang.”
Let’s take a closer look
at one factory in Xinjiang:
the company we
showed you earlier,
where Uighurs were arriving
for their first day.
It’s called Tianshan Textile.
China proudly promotes
the transfer program
as a way to reduce poverty.
So we are able to follow
the workers
to their new living quarters
at the factory,
thanks to reports
on state media.
It all started here.
In mid-March, the government
moved almost 2,000 Uighurs
from Hotan, in the
south of Xinjiang.
Their destination is Urumqi,
Xinjiang’s capital city
in the north.
Fifty were sent to
Tianshan Textile
for a very specific task.
Tianshan didn’t respond
to our request for comment.
But it’s a clear example
of how Uighur workers
are fulfilling the increasing
need for P.P.E.
Now, let’s look at companies
that use the labor program
to make products
that are shipped
to the United States
and around the world.
We are first going to look at
a company called Hubei Haixin.
It uses Uighur workers from
the labor transfer program.
Its factory is located here,
almost 2,000 miles away
from Hotan, where the Uighur
workers were transferred from.
We tracked one of Hubei
Haixin’s face mask shipments
from its port of departure
in Shanghai
to the United States.
It arrived at the port of
Los Angeles in late May.
Then, the shipment was
received by MedWay US,
a medical supply company
in Suwanee, Ga.
Although MedWay US
wouldn’t respond
to questions from The Times
about the origins
of their products,
we can see they do sell
face masks online.
Protective gear
made by Hubei Haixin
is also readily available
to U.S. consumers
on popular online
shopping websites.
Images of the Uighurs’
living conditions
at the Hubei Haixin factory,
proudly broadcast
on state media, help explain
why the labor transfer program
is so controversial.
They are required to attend a
weekly national flag-raising
ceremony to pledge
loyalty to China.
They also must learn
to speak Mandarin.
This form of political
indoctrination is common,
and we see it in
even greater detail
at another exporting
company we identified.
This is Medwell
Medical Products.
According to state media,
Uighurs make up
over 25 percent of the
company’s labor force.
Although an employee
who answered the phone
at Medwell told The Times
that they have no workers
from Xinjiang, we know
there are Uighurs
at Medwell’s factory.
In satellite imagery,
we can clearly see
their segregated
living quarters.
They have an assigned area
on the factory grounds.
They’re surrounded by
government indoctrination
and take mandatory
Mandarin language classes
three times a week.
In the government’s view,
fluency in Mandarin
and skills in factory work
are key to assimilating
to Chinese society.
It’s unclear how many masks
Medwell sends abroad.
But a Medwell representative
openly promoted
its robust export business
in an interview on state TV.
And we found that it’s also
shipping to current
virus hot spots
in Latin America.
A Brazilian company
called MedTrace
received a shipment of
face masks from Medwell
but told us they were unaware
that it uses Uighur workers.
The labor transfer
program is part of
a larger system of repression
and mass incarceration.
Over one million Uighurs
and mostly Muslim minorities
have been detained
in recent years,
some simply for their
religious practice.
The Chinese Communist
Party says
its tight control
over Xinjiang
is necessary to fight what it
says is religious extremism.
It’s virtually
impossible to know
who in the transfer program
was forced to participate.
Speaking out is
incredibly risky.
And the government is
shaping the narrative.
“In Xinjiang, it is not
a practical possibility
at this moment to do
effective worker interviews
because no worker
can be expected,
whether onsite or offsite,
to feel comfortable speaking
candidly and openly
with an interviewer,
particularly if the
matter under discussion
is the issue of forced labor,
which is the burning issue
in Xinjiang from a
labor rights standpoint.”
But we do know that the
transfers are widespread
and often coercive.
Authorities provide
regions with subsidies
for each worker
that they take in.
They also impose quotas
on the number of workers
that must be transferred.
“That puts enormous pressure
on those government officials
to find those workers.
And that increases the risks
that those workers are not
working willingly.”
Those who refuse to work in
the program can be penalized.
A local government
directive from 2018
describes a system
that grades workers
on their level of cooperation.
Those with low scores are
subject to more indoctrination,
and their movements
are restricted.
Since 2017, almost three
million people per year
have been put in the program.
The spokesman for China’s
embassy in the U.S. told
The Times that the rights of
Uighur workers are protected
and that the measures, quote,
“help local residents
rise above poverty
through employment
and lead fulfilling lives.”
Earlier this year, an
Australian think tank
identified 83 major
international brands
whose supply chains
were connected
to the Uighur labor transfers,
including Nike and Apple.
The situation has
become so troubling
that the U.S. government
in July 2020
warned U.S. companies
of the risk of forced labor
from Xinjiang.
And U.S. lawmakers introduced
a bipartisan bill
to restrict imports
from the region.
“It’s injected forced labor
into American and global
supply chains.”
“We know that many U.S.,
international and Chinese
companies are complicit in the
exploitation of forced labor.”
But despite the concern,
we found
that protective gear from
problematic supply chains
is continuing to make
its way into the U.S.
and around the world.
“Hey, it’s Haley here, one of
the reporters on this video.
Our team spent months
investigating companies
in China that use Uighur labor
to produce P.P.E.,
but we only realized how
widespread the issue really is
when we tracked a
shipment of face masks
from one of those
companies to the U.S.
If you want to see
more work like this,
let us know what we
should investigate next,
and don’t forget to subscribe
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