- cross-posted to:
- news@beehaw.org
- globalnews@lemmy.zip
- china@sopuli.xyz
- cross-posted to:
- news@beehaw.org
- globalnews@lemmy.zip
- china@sopuli.xyz
Summary
Brazilian authorities uncovered “slavery-like” conditions at BYD’s factory construction site in Bahia, rescuing 163 Chinese workers subjected to withheld passports, withheld wages, and unsanitary conditions.
The site, managed by contractor Jinjiang Group, was shut down, and BYD faces scrutiny despite its promises to cooperate.
The case highlights tensions between Chinese investment and local labor standards, sparking debates in Brazil and China over worker rights.
Experts see this as an example for Chinese investors to respect Brazil’s independent judiciary while noting it won’t deter future Chinese investments.
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Remember when everyone boycotted apple because of the horrendous conditions at Foxconn? Or people boycotting Lithium batteries because of slave like conditions in African mines? Remember?! Oh wait. No one gave a shit as long as they got their consumer products.
Note: This is NOT whataboutism. This is just a reminder that consumers only care if it doesn’t seriously inconvenience them. Otherwise they always turn a blind eye.
This was in Brazil. I wonder how they treat their workers in mainland China
I mean the same, withheld wages, slave like conditions, it’s hard to get worse than that.
What’s a little human rights violation in today’s society? Amirite?
That’s just china being china. However, I wanted to mention good on Brasil. They’ve been doing more +s than -s lately. They’re really bringing their standards up recently, it seems. Good for them. Shame the war criminal got away, though.
This doesn’t expose anything new. We’ve known this for decades. If they have a problem with this sort of behavior. They need to not do business with brutal, oppressive systems and government like China. But of course it won’t stop them in the long run. Like it never stopped western nations from trying to benefit from the exploitation either.
the whole world depends on doing business with china
And? Maybe we shouldn’t. Maybe no one should be dependent on one country like that. Especially authoritarian ones.
of course, but its easier said than done
True. But if something is worth doing it shouldn’t matter if it’s hard. We should still try.
You say that as if Western nations aren’t themselves brutal, oppressive and exploitative.
That’s only because you’re putting words in my mouth. That was literally the point. We’ve just outsourced the brutally. And just because the West used brutality and slavery does not justify China doing it now.
Either way I’m going to get it from both sides. Tankies screaming about China criticism. Capitalist upset about criticizing the west.
Precisely because the west used brutality and slavery and essentially tried to colonize/puppet the entire world is PRECISELY why nobody should give a shit what the west says. How many democratic nations have you couped for you resource exploitation, how many millions have died under so called “American led world peace” just this century alone? You don’t need to be a tankie to criticise the west wholesale slaughtering and justifying continuous wars in the middle east, and south America. Just need be a human with a functional brain and empathy
So to clarify your position, you also advocate for countries not doing business with the West
Where the west behaves similarly, absolutely. It would be hypocritical not to.
That was literally the point.
You’ve misunderstood.
the West used brutality
I’m saying Western nations use brutality now.
both sides. Tankies … Capitalist
Don’t put me in a box.
There are more countries than “the US”. Not everyone has fucked up work laws, especially in Europe.
“the US”.
I haven’t said those words.
Yeah you said “west is fucked up when working” when in reality it is “the US”
you said “west is fucked up when working”
I haven’t said those words.
So was I. And I didn’t. Simply mentioned the hypocrisy of both groups. Again, you’re making assumptions.
So was I … Simply mentioned the hypocrisy of both groups
You said:
“They need to not do business with brutal, oppressive systems and government like China.”
Here you’re stating that China is a brutal, oppresive system and government. Saying that “they” (Western nations) need to not do business with “brutal, oppressive systems” implies that the Western nations are not themselves brutal and oppressive.
You also said
“Like it never stopped western nations from trying to benefit from the exploitation either.”
and used the word “stopped” which is past tense, meaning that Western nations’ benefitting from exploitation of their population is something which happened in the past and is not something which is still happening now.
You also said
“just because the West used brutality and slavery does not justify China doing it now.”
and used the word “used” which is past tense and even said “China doing it now”, clearly contrasting a (supposedly) past behaviour of the West with a current behaviour of China.
No idea why you’re getting downvoted until I saw it was lemmy.world This place time and again proves to be where all the western Reddit refugees with all the stupidity but none of the nuance old Reddit had.
I was looking for some evidence, but the only thing I could find in my brief search was the single image in the following article, it’s not clear what the status of the beds are, nor is there anything about the bathrooms or the withheld passports or the food on the floor.
Seems to be quite brief indeed. Less than 2 minutes of searching:
And here’s a video that shows the beds: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20241226_05/
According to an article in Portuguese:
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beds didn’t have mattresses
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up to 31 workers per available bathroom
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no lockers or any available space to keep personal items
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no payment at all for anyone who decided to quit, except for the ticket back to China
Yes, that was all what I read already, but I was wondering if there was any evidence shared or not. I would have wanted good reporting to include pictures, maybe testimonies from the workers or something.
That’s because the source is not any news reporting but an actual operation from a government agency.
Anyway, this video has some footage:
The video also claims:
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there was no refrigeration for their food and both the ingredients and cooking utensils were all laying on the floor
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they only had tap water without “water treatment” (not sure what they mean by this, as tap water is supposed to already be drinkable, although in some places in Brazil it definitely isn’t)
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there was a 60/40 split in their payments, with the company keeping one portion for themselves to cover the cost of bringing them over and keeping them there. The rest was paid in Chinese currency so they couldn’t use it in Brazil.
Brazilian here
“Treated tap water” is (theoretically. Most people have a filter at home anyway) drinkable, and you get it from the water company.
“Untreated tap water” can be pulled from a well, or a cistern, or even bought from the water company, but it has no standards for drinkability it’s held up to. It is therefore, cheaper. It has its uses in cleaning and such.1
Yes that was the kind of evidence I was after, we have a much better understanding of the sleeping situation and some highlight of the food area. Thanks!
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