Chinese Workers

New Investigation Reveals Labor Rights Risks for Chinese Migrant Workers at BYD Hungary Construction Site

Szeged, Hungary — A new investigation by China Labor Watch (CLW) has identified serious labor rights concerns affecting Chinese migrant workers at the construction site of BYD’s electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Szeged, Hungary. Based on field research conducted in October and November 2025, including interviews with 50 workers, and one additional field work in early 2026 to confirm finding, the report documents systemic labor risks associated with subcontracted employment arrangements. These include excessive working hours, opaque wage practices, recruitment-related…

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Overseas Labor Risk Brief: Social Media Posts Reveal Accidents, Enforcement, Wage Arrears, and Spillover Risks

China Labor Watch (CLW) reviewed and compiled a total of 139 Chinese-language social media posts from December 2025 to February 2026 concerning labor rights violations, human trafficking, and other issues impacting Chinese workers. Over the past two months, risks facing overseas Chinese workers and Chinese-invested projects have become increasingly evident and interconnected. Workplace accidents have occurred frequently in multiple locations particularly in industrial parks in Indonesia. Incidents including collapsing steel piles, fatal truck run-overs, and crowd stampedes highlight serious weaknesses…

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Labubu, Unboxed: the labor behind the global toy phenomenon

Downdload Full Report Overview In 2025, a small, fang-toothed, wide-eyed designer toy known as Labubu emerged as a global cultural phenomenon. Created by artist Kasing Lung and then licensed by designer toy company Pop Mart, Labubu products have sold out rapidly across Asia, Europe, and North America, generating long queues and viral attention. In the summer and fall of 2025, China Labor Watch conducted an in-depth investigation into a Labubu factory, Shunjia Toys Co. Ltd. at Xinfeng County, a core…

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Why China’s Exploitative Labor System Gives It a Strategic Edge

On January 8, China Labor Watch Executive Director Li Qiang published an op-ed in The Diplomat titled “Why China’s Exploitative Labor System Gives It a Strategic Edge.” The article argues that China’s manufacturing dominance is rooted not primarily in technology or industrial policy, but in an institutional “low rights” labor model characterized by weak enforcement, excessive working hours, and wage suppression. This model has generated powerful cost and scale advantages and is now being exported globally through overseas investment and…

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China Labor Watch Investigation Finds Labor Violations at Labubu Toy Factory Supplying Pop Mart

China Labor Watch (CLW) has released the findings of an in-depth investigation into Shunjia Toys Co., Ltd., a major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) producing Labubu designer toys for Pop Mart, revealing widespread labor rights violations at a core manufacturing facility in Xinfeng County, Jiangxi Province. Labubu, a fang-toothed designer toy created by artist Kasing Lung and licensed by Pop Mart, emerged in 2025 as a global cultural phenomenon, selling out rapidly across Asia, Europe, and North America. The toy’s popularity…

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Statement by China Labor Watch at the United Nations Constructive Dialogue on Trafficking in Persons on Oct 8, 2025

This is the official statement delivered by China Labor Watch at the United Nations Constructive Dialogue on Trafficking in Persons on October 8: Our investigations have found that labor trafficking within international critical mineral supply chains and construction projects is both systemic and transnational, yet remains rarely acknowledged or addressed. Workers have reported being deceived by online recruitment scams, paying exorbitant fees, and signing fraudulent contracts. Upon arrival, many were forced to surrender their passports and subjected to severe restrictions…

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China Labor Watch Raises Serious Concerns Over Alleged Labor Violations at Foxconn iPhone 17 Factory 

China Labor Watch Investigation Reveals Labor Conditions at Foxconn Zhengzhou Raises Labor Rights Concerns in Apple’s iPhone 17 Supply Chain. Report finds over half of workforce are dispatch workers, with other issues include wage withholding, excessive overtime, discrimination, and dispatch workers with student status forced onto night shifts. New York, September 25, 2025 — China Labor Watch (CLW) today released a new investigative report, Apple’s Dependence on China in Its Supply Chain: An Investigation of Foxconn Zhengzhou. During the manufacturing…

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How the Responsible Business Alliance Fails Workers: Recurrent Labor Risks in Foxconn Factories and RBA-Member Companies

The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) claims to set leading standards for onsite compliant audits. Yet, its member companies keep failing to prevent serious labor risks, and the RBA continues to ignore China Labor Watch’s (CLW) request for increased transparency. Since January 2024, CLW and nine other civil society groups have been actively engaging the RBA on the disconnect between their audit findings and the reality on the ground for workers. While we have called on the RBA to introduce transparency…

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China Labor Watch Raises Serious Concerns Regarding the Lack of Transparency in Foxconn’s Audit Disclosure and RBA’s Practices

China Labor Watch (CLW) expresses deep concern over Foxconn’s recent claims of labor compliances at its manufacturing campuses, made without disclosing essential audit details. On April 1, 2025,  Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology Group) announced that nine of its factories in China, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and Mexico has passed third-party audits under the Responsible Business Alliance’s (RBA) Validated Assessment Program (VAP). The company claimed this demonstrates a commitment to compliance and transparency in labor rights, environment, occupational health, and ethical governance. However, it failed…

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Two Worker Deaths In Three Days at IMIP, Indonesia

On the morning of May 13, 2025, a Chinese worker tragically died while conducting furnace repairs at PT GCNS (Indonesia Guang Ching Nickel and Stainless Steel Industry) in Morowali, Indonesia. PT GCNS is a stainless-steel manufacturer located within PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP). The worker was electrocuted when conducting repairs and was rushed to the nearby medical clinic but unfortunately passed away before arrival.  The electrical panel was not shut off when the worker undertook furnace repairs, creating a…

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