iPhone longtime supplier accused of using forced Uighur Muslim labor in China
Beijing: Documents uncovered by a human rights group has revealed and accused one of the oldest and reputed suppliers of Apple’s iPhones of using forced Muslim labor in its factories.
The document discovered by the Tech Transparency Project and shared exclusively with The Washington Post reveals thousands of Uighur workers mostly hailing from the Muslim region of Xinjiang were forced to work for Lens Technology.
Lens Technology is one of at least five companies connected to Apple's supply chain that has now been linked to alleged forced labor from the Xinjiang region, according to human rights groups. Lens Technology stands out from other Apple component suppliers because of its high-profile founder and long, well-documented history going back to the early days of the iPhone.
Lens also supplies Amazon and Tesla, according to its annual report.
"Our research shows that Apple's use of forced labor in its supply chain goes far beyond what the company has acknowledged," said Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project.
Apple, however, categorically rejected the claims and said that Lens Technology has not received any labor transfers of Uighur workers from Xinjiang. Josh Rosenstock, Apple spokesman added that Apple has ensured that none of its other suppliers are using Uighur labor transferred from Xinjiang.
Looking for the presence of forced labor is part of every supplier assessment we conduct, including surprise audits. These protections apply across the supply chain, regardless of a person's job or location. Any violation of our policies has immediate consequences, including possible business termination. As always, our focus is on making sure everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and we will continue doing all we can to protect workers in our supply chain" Rosenstock said.
Lens Technology however did not respond to requests for comment according to The Washington Post.
In response to faxed questions from The Post, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing called forced labor in China "nonexistent" and accused people with "ulterior motives" of fabricating it. It said a number of companies had hired auditors to conduct investigations, which "confirmed the nonexistence of 'forced labor.'" It did not name the companies.
"Apple claims to take extraordinary measures to monitor its supply chain for such problems, but the evidence we found was openly available on the Internet," said Paul of the Tech Transparency Project.
Xinjiang, in the far reaches of Western China bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other Muslim-majority countries, is facing a brutal crackdown by China's government, which has placed more than a million Muslims in concentration camps or forced them to work in factories making everything from cotton to soft drinks to electronics.
Some Uighur workers have told human rights groups that they were given a choice between taking a job in a far-flung factory and being sent to a detention center. In some cases, workers have said that when they "accept" the job, they live in heavily guarded campuses and are rarely allowed to leave. In the evenings, when their shifts end, the Uighur workers say they are forced to take lessons in communist propaganda. Whether the Uighurs are paid, and exactly how much, is unclear.
Some of these labor transfers sent workers to Lens Technology campuses in Hunan, according to an August 2019 article in the Global Times of China.
In a previous report, the Tech Transparency Project alleged the cotton T-shirts worn by Apple Store employees were also sourced from forced labor in Xinjiang. Rosenstock has said Apple doesn't receive shirts from Xinjiang, but would not say whether the company ever did in the past.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
