[China] Jailed and tortured Alexa whistleblower demands apology

A whistleblower who exposed illegal working conditions in a factory making Amazon’s Alexa devices has said that he was tortured before being jailed by Chinese authorities, The Guardian reports.

Tang Mingfang (43) was jailed after revealing that the Foxconn factory in the southern Chinese city of Hengyang used schoolchildren working illegally long hours to manufacture Amazon’s Echo, Echo Dot and Kindle devices.

Now, after spending two years in prison, Tang is reportedly appealing to the higher courts to clear his name. He said has taken the difficult decision to speak about these matters publicly - despite being conscious of a risk of reprisals - because he believes Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, have a responsibility to support his appeal and that the Observer also has a responsibility to continue to highlight his case.

Tang’s father died while he was in prison, he said his father would have wanted him to speak up when he saw young workers being abused.

“My father always taught me that I should be a good person and, because I followed my heart and believed that justice should be served, I reported the serious violations at Hengyang Foxconn. Yet my imprisonment has caused such great harm to me and my family,” he told the Observer.

He described how he was beaten by his interrogators and handcuffed in stress positions until he could take no more and signed a confession to the crime of infringing trade secrets.

“I refused to sign seven times, and they got angry and handcuffed me to the bottom of the iron frame, unable to stand, squat, sit; only bending, half squatting all night. In the early morning, I could not stand any more,” he said.

“I think Amazon should give me an explanation, tell me if I really deserve to be sent to jail? If not, Amazon should give me an apology, along with its partner, Foxconn, to assist me to appeal for a redress, and provide compensation.”

Amazon did not answer specific questions raised by the Observer, however a spokesperson said, “We do not tolerate violations of our supply chain standards. We regularly assess suppliers, using independent auditors as appropriate, to monitor continued compliance and improvement - if we find violations, we take appropriate steps, including requesting immediate corrective action.”

Jeff Bezos is now worth an estimated £137bn. In a letter to the Amazon founder, Tang urged him to ensure that workers’ rights were protected. 

“Although the price was too high for me, I think the price I paid will all be worth it if only this situation can be brought to your attention and benefit the employees of all Amazon suppliers,” Tang wrote.

“Finally, as your faithful admirer, as a former employee of your company’s client, as a victim, as a son, husband, father, I would like to ask the following of you. Please ask Hengyang Foxconn to face up to its own problems, apologise to me, and come forward and communicate with the local court to assist me in the appeal of my case, so that the court can finally revoke my guilty verdict.”

Source: The Guardian

(Link and quotes via original reporting)

A whistleblower who exposed illegal working conditions in a factory making Amazon’s Alexa devices has said that he was tortured before being jailed by Chinese authorities, The Guardian reports.

Tang Mingfang (43) was jailed after revealing that the Foxconn factory in the southern Chinese city of Hengyang used schoolchildren working illegally long hours to manufacture Amazon’s Echo, Echo Dot and Kindle devices.

Now, after spending two years in prison, Tang is reportedly appealing to the higher courts to clear his name. He said has taken the difficult decision to speak about these matters publicly - despite being conscious of a risk of reprisals - because he believes Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, have a responsibility to support his appeal and that the Observer also has a responsibility to continue to highlight his case.

Tang’s father died while he was in prison, he said his father would have wanted him to speak up when he saw young workers being abused.

“My father always taught me that I should be a good person and, because I followed my heart and believed that justice should be served, I reported the serious violations at Hengyang Foxconn. Yet my imprisonment has caused such great harm to me and my family,” he told the Observer.

He described how he was beaten by his interrogators and handcuffed in stress positions until he could take no more and signed a confession to the crime of infringing trade secrets.

“I refused to sign seven times, and they got angry and handcuffed me to the bottom of the iron frame, unable to stand, squat, sit; only bending, half squatting all night. In the early morning, I could not stand any more,” he said.

“I think Amazon should give me an explanation, tell me if I really deserve to be sent to jail? If not, Amazon should give me an apology, along with its partner, Foxconn, to assist me to appeal for a redress, and provide compensation.”

Amazon did not answer specific questions raised by the Observer, however a spokesperson said, “We do not tolerate violations of our supply chain standards. We regularly assess suppliers, using independent auditors as appropriate, to monitor continued compliance and improvement - if we find violations, we take appropriate steps, including requesting immediate corrective action.”

Jeff Bezos is now worth an estimated £137bn. In a letter to the Amazon founder, Tang urged him to ensure that workers’ rights were protected. 

“Although the price was too high for me, I think the price I paid will all be worth it if only this situation can be brought to your attention and benefit the employees of all Amazon suppliers,” Tang wrote.

“Finally, as your faithful admirer, as a former employee of your company’s client, as a victim, as a son, husband, father, I would like to ask the following of you. Please ask Hengyang Foxconn to face up to its own problems, apologise to me, and come forward and communicate with the local court to assist me in the appeal of my case, so that the court can finally revoke my guilty verdict.”

Source: The Guardian

(Link and quotes via original reporting)