Conversation

12.06.17

Apple in China: WTF?

Samuel Wade, Shaun Rein & more
In November, the non-profit watchdog Freedom House called China “the worst abuser of Internet freedom” of the 65 countries it surveyed. And yet, on December 3, Apple CEO Tim Cook keynoted China’s annual World Internet Conference. “The theme of this...

Before Wisconsin, Foxconn Vowed Big Spending in Brazil. Few Jobs Have Come.

David Barboza
New York Times
Before the Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn pledged to spend $10 billion and create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin, the company made a similar promise of 100,000 jobs in Brazil. Six years later, Brazil is still waiting for most of those jobs to...

The Biggest Loser If Trump Ignites a Trade War with China

Benjamin Carlson
CNBC
There’s at least one big loser if President Donald J. Trump ignites a trade war with China: Taiwan. The island democracy has a heavily export-dependent economy enmeshed in billions of dollars in U.S. and China trade.

How China Built ‘iPhone City’ With Billions in Perks for Apple’s Partner

David Barboza
New York Times
A hidden bounty of benefits for Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, the world’s biggest iPhone factory, is central to the production of Apple’s most profitable product

Foxconn Plans Chinese Union Vote

Kathrin Hille and Rahul Jacob
Financial Times
Foxconn, the contract manufacturer whose biggest customer is Apple, is preparing genuinely representative labour union elections in its factories in China for the first time, a powerful sign of changes in the workshop of the world demanded by an...

Apple and China: A Match Made in Heaven?

Zachary Keck
Diplomat
China has long played a major role in Apple’s success after it moved much of its manufacturing from the U.S. to China and other Asian nations in the 1990’s.

Signs of Changes Taking Hold in Electronics Factories in China

Keith Bradsher and Charles Duhigg
New York Times
Apple, the electronics industry’s behemoth, in the last year has tripled its corporate social responsibility staff, has re-evaluated how it works with manufacturers, has asked competitors to help curb excessive overtime in China and has reached out...

Rectification of Names, 鸿海 Division

James Fallows
Atlantic
Now you might be thinking: Oh, no! Another Chinese company whose name I have to remember and that I have to care about. Calm down. As people who operate in China know, and as one "by the way" clause in the story points out, Hon Hai...

Mr. China Comes to America

James Fallows
Atlantic
Near the end of this year’s second presidential debate, Candy Crowley of CNN pointed out that iPads, iPhones, and other globally sought-after Apple products are all made in China. What would it take, she asked both Mitt Romney and Barack...

Foxconn Labor Disputes Disrupt IPhone Output for 2nd Time

Alexandra Ho and Tim Culpan
Bloomberg
Foxconn Technology Group, the assembler of Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhones, had to stop production for the second time in as many weeks after factory-line workers at one of its plants protested against increased pressure.

What the Foxconn Riot Says About China

Evan Osnos
New Yorker
Day by day, Chinese workers expect better conditions and greater guarantees that when companies go bust, the employees will not. And, yet, China permits no independent trade unions or free collective bargaining. Complaint and mediation procedures...

The Persistence of Problems in China’s Factories

Stanley Lubman
Wall Street Journal
A riot involving 2,000 workers at a factory in the northern Chinese city of Taiyuan on Sunday night once has once again shined a light on conditions at factories owned by Apple Inc. supplier Foxconn. The cause of the riot appears to have been a...

How Foxconn Changed a Small Chinese Town

Charlie Custer
Tech in Asia
Chances are pretty good that the folks at Foxconn had something to do with at least a part of whatever device you’re reading this post on right now. The Taiwanese company is massive, and with plants all over China, its effect in some parts of that...

Auditor Says Foxconn Is Improving Work Conditions

Rob Schmitz
Marketplace
If you own an Apple product, you might be interested in knowing how Apple's supply chain is doing. Six months ago, the Fair Labor Association, a labor group hired by Apple found a number of problems with iPhone and iPad maker Foxconn. Those...

Sinica Podcast

03.23.12

L’affaire Daisey

Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more from Sinica Podcast
If you smell anything burning, it’s likely your Internet cable melting from the heat of all these rumors. Which is why at Sinica we turn our unforgiving gaze this week at unsubstantiated press, foreign and domestic, focusing first on reports of...

Sinica Podcast

06.04.10

Suicides, Strikes, and Labor Unrest in China

Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more from Sinica Podcast
A spate of suicides leaves ten dead at the Shenzhen campus of Foxconn, the giant electronics manufacturer that makes many of the world’s most popular consumer electronics. A rare strike paralyzes production at Honda Motors, shutting down all of the...