Asia

VOICEOVER:

Do you have a car?  

If so, then parts of your car could be made with forced labor from China. 

Let's explain how. 

The first thing you need to know is that factories in China make the most cars in the world.

Major brands such as General Motors, Tesla, BYD, Toyota, and Volkswagen manufacture and sell cars in China.  

Factories in China are also increasingly exporting cars and car parts to global markets. 

So where does the forced labor come in?  

Well, almost 10 percent of the world’s aluminum, a key material for car making, is produced in the Xinjiang region of China. 

Xinjiang is home to the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim Turkic ethnic group whose culture and language are different from China’s majority Han population.  

The Chinese government has long repressed Uyghurs and in recent years committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.  

The government’s abuses include: 

• An estimated one million arbitrary detentions. 
• an intrusive mass surveillance system 
• (and) cultural and religious persecution 

The Chinese government has also subjected Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim communities to forced labor, both in detention centers and through labor transfer programs. 

Labor transfers relocate Uyghurs from their homes in rural areas to urban areas to work in factories.  

Teams of government officials go door-to-door to identify candidates for transfers.  

Human Rights Watch and other organizations analyzed hundreds of Chinese government and company documents available online, and found links between Xinjiang’s aluminum producers and labor transfers.

Uyghurs fear detention or other sanctions if they refuse the transfers, so there’s little choice but to accept the jobs and relocate.  

Labor transfer workers frequently face ideological indoctrination and limits on their freedom of movement.  

So how could aluminum produced by forced labor end up in your car?  

Aluminum from Xinjiang is exported to other regions of China, where it is melted down again, enabling it to enter global supply chains undetected.

And maybe into the car that you use.  

Car companies are aware of the Chinese government’s repression of Uyghurs and the risk of forced labor in their supply chain. 

But some carmakers have succumbed to Chinese government pressure to apply weaker human rights and responsible sourcing standards in their operations in China.

Consumers should not have to buy or drive vehicles with links to grave abuses in Xinjiang.   

So, what can be done?  

When looking to buy a new car, consumers should ask manufacturers how they protect against links to human rights abuses, including forced labor in Xinjiang.

Car companies should require their suppliers, in China and elsewhere, to prove the source of raw materials and show they are free from human rights violations. 

Countries should require companies to disclose their supply chains and prohibit the import of products containing parts or materials produced by forced labor. 

The cars we drive shouldn’t be made with forced labor. 

Hanoi, Vietnam 

January 9, 2020 

Now I shall record the public security  

force that is monitoring my house. 

This is the public security force that has monitored  

my house continually in the past few days.  

In 2017, 

this very force charged into my house, climbed onto my bed. 

They climbed onto my bed to arrest me  

and took me to the public security station. 

Trinh Ba Phuong 

Land Rights Activist 

Vietnamese authorities routinely use plainclothes security  

to keep activists like Trinh Ba Phuong  

from attending meetings or protests. 

This is a violation of freedom of  

movement and it needs to stop. 

In this incident, Trinh Ba Phuong was beaten  

by police and released a few hours later.  

-What are you filming?  

-Are you going to beat me up? 

Are you beating me up? 

Take him to the [police] station. Invite him to the station. 

Oh my God!  Oh heaven! 

In December 2021, Trinh Ba Phuong was sentenced to  

ten years in prison for his reporting on land confiscation. 

US Delegation 

Hanoi, 2015 

Dissidents are also often detained and interrogated  

when they try to attend meetings abroad or  

meet with foreign dignitaries in Vietnam. 

Nguyen Quang A 

Human Rights Activist 

Nguyen Quang A has been detained or put under  

house arrest more than 24 times in the past eight years. 

Hanoi, Vietnam 

May, 2016 

In this incident, he was  

stopped from going to a public protest. 

What’s up today? 

-Today, you’re not going anywhere. 

-Please go back in the house for your health.  

Hey, son, why are you doing this? 

At the very least he must have his own 

liberty. You guys act as if he is a criminal.  

He is going to take care of his business.  

He is not joining the protest. He has work to tend to.  

When he was invited to meet with  

US President Barack Obama in 2016, 

state security shoved Nguyen Quang A into a  

car and drove around for several hours. 

So he missed the meeting. 

Hanoi, Vietnam  

May 24, 2016 

I should note that there were several  

other activists who were invited 

who were prevented from coming for various reasons. 

Hua Phi 

Activist  

In another incident, the police used furniture to  

block the car of religious freedom activist Hua Phi  

when he was set to meet with a  

US delegation in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Lam Dong, Vietnam 

May, 2019 

Respectfully to the international community,  

I’m now going to Saigon, with my car here.  

It is clear that they are blocking the front here. 

I was preparing to go to Saigon, but  

was stopped by these guys out here. 

I will continue to report on this. 

Authorities have also used padlocks to  

keep dissidents in their homes.  

These practices are so common, activists joke  

that it’s like they’re eating “guard soup.” 

Freedom of movement is a human right.  

Vietnam: Don’t lock critics up.