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Suicide of Foxconn employee puts China's white-collar workers under spotlight |
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14:07, July 24, 2009 |
Links: One life lost only for a missing iPhone, why?
The suicide of Sun Danyong, an employee of Foxconn Technology Group, after a sample Apple iPhone had gone missing, has been hotly discussed by the international media for days, according to a report by the Global Times on July 24.
At a time when China's economy is rapidly developing, this tragedy reveals the fragility underlying the glorious appearance of China's white-collar workers.
Sun's death raised doubts from the Western media about Apple Incorporated's culture. Forbes.com said ironically that the design of Apple's next-generation mobile phone is so "priceless" that it has claimed the life of a young Chinese engineer held responsible for misplacing a prototype. Reuters published an article on July 23, saying that the Foxconn employee's suicide "puts a spotlight on the secretive Apple culture."
A Reuters' report said that the incident "sparked a Web firestorm in China." Many posts were made by Western readers in response to the article. A US netizen said that companies which transfer production abroad only care about money, not the people who work for them.
Foxconn has also faced severe criticism. The US based Computerworld.com said, "Allegations of trouble with Foxconn workers in China have bitten Apple before. The US company and its relationship with Foxconn was brought to light three years ago when a British newspaper wrote about allegedly poor pay and long hours for iPod assembly line workers."
By People's Daily Online
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