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07/28/09
$44,000.00 isn't very much for a life though...
07/27/09
Here, have a free laptop. I'm sure it'll make up for all your suffering and make us realize the depth of our mistake."
Dear Foxconn and Apple,
Srysly!!??!?!?!?!?
-Me
If it were my girlfriend, I would be calling for an embargo on all Apple goods for the next 50 years and the resignation and public apology of whatever Foxconn asshat executive was involved.
07/27/09
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07/27/09
Why the hell do I "approve" the shitty comment below the disemvoweled and not even respond to it?
07/27/09
As for this threat of a boycott agains apple and or foxcann. YOU ARE ALL HIPOCRATES!!!! China is not a democracy nor a republic. You buy many of their goods already. If you stop purchasing from apple/foxconn but still continue with your notmal purchased you have changed nothing.
I am in no way going to stop purchasing goods from China. I am aware of the poor conditons their. That is why I do not live their nor an I that concerned with visitng them. In the end though, "man" has an option to work and these individuals have chosen to do so in this country. No one is forced to work.
07/27/09
People here love human rights, but guess what? We love capitalism more. No one is going to throw their iPod in the trash over this, no matter how much we whine. In a couple of weeks, this whole thing will be forgotten.
07/27/09
07/27/09
@LewPhoenix:
Hippocrates.
07/27/09
Also because whining about human rights on the internet costs a grand total of zero dollars.
Whining about human rights in real life by symbolically trashing an iPod costs $200, and to even the most die-hard human-rights people, that's not a sacrifice they're willing to make.
07/27/09
07/27/09
07/27/09
Is a human life really only worth $44k and a macbook? This is pathetic.
07/27/09
I agree wholeheartedly!
I like to think that there is more to this story than anyone outside the company will ever know.
07/27/09
To answer your rhetorical question, the whole idea of compensating someone for the loss of a loved one is difficult at best. Our government has a renumeration calculation based on a number of factors, predominantly earning potential. So many people in the world earn so little that "fair" US compensation would be paltry at best. Therefore, there are undoubtedly billions of human lives that our government would value less than a laptop.
07/27/09
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07/25/09
I'm also certain if this was any product other than one from Apple this story would have been quietly and quickly swept under the rug...
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
We've seen allegations that Foxconn uses force in their dealings with their employees. AFAIK, we haven't seen proof one way or the other. Physical reprimanding aside, I think it's clear that security and confidentiality at Foxconn is taken very seriously.
The reason it's taken so seriously is because Apple is a notoriously secretive company. Leaks of Apple products are exceedingly rare and one could argue that the reason for that is that Apple has made it a part of their corporate identity that leaks are unacceptable. As another commenter said, the leaks by Chinese case manufacturers of iPhone 3G prototypes may have resulted in Apple taking a more aggressive stance with their manufacturing partners in China regarding upcoming products.
The final piece in the puzzle is Sun Danyong. Ultimately, he's the one that chose to end his own life. However, what was the source of the pressure that resulted in him feeling that suicide was the only option? Was it Foxconn, whose relationship with Apple may have been permanently damaged as a result of the missing prototype? Was it Apple, whose emphasis on secrecy made a misplaced or stolen prototype a much bigger offense that it might have been at a different company? Did Sun Danyong have any mental issues that caused him to make an irrational choice when faced with what happened? Or was it Chinese culture itself, where suicide has traditionally been viewed as a means to regain one's honor when they have committed an offense?
I don't think we'll ever know for sure, but the fact of the matter is that a young man is dead that shouldn't be, and his loss should be mourned.
07/26/09
07/27/09
"Chinese culture has historically taken an ambivalent view on suicide. It has been commonly mentioned throughout Chinese history and frequently tolerated, if not explicitly sanctioned. It is frequently used as a means of escaping tragedy and shame, an especially strong pressure given the collective aspects of traditional Chinese culture." (emphasis added)
Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_views_of_suicide#China)