GrahamB wrote:"Nigel Adams, the Asia minister, admitted there was credible evidence of widespread use of forced labour, internment camps, and the targeting of ethnic groups.
Every single report and article stating proofs about "forced labor" in China can be tracked back to this source:
"
Beyond the Camps: Beijing’s Long-Term Scheme of Coercive Labor, Poverty Alleviation and Social Control in Xinjiang."
Published in Journal of Political Risk, Vol. 7, No. 12, December 2019
It's written by Adrian Zenz as a paper ordered directly from the US foreign ministry. In fact, he has written most of what is used as "proofs" of Genocide in Xinjiang.
However, in "Beyond the Camps..." He states that not only Uighur is subject to the presumed forced labor, but all ethnical groups are targeted. (So towards what group is a presumed genocide pointed at? )
He writes:
"...impossible to clearly determine whether a labor- intensive manufacturing product in Xinjiang will be made with labor from former detainees or not. "
Nothing is possible to clearly determinate in his report and there are only speculations around figures.
A series of spreadsheets titled “poverty alleviation groups” that were produced by local government authorities from Asilanbage Township in Yarkand (Shache) County, Kashgar Prefecture, list the employment situation of thousands of rural Uyghur residents....
...Of the 43 persons with a listed monthly wage, about two thirds (28) only earned 800 RMB per month, 7 were shown to earn 1,000 RMB, and 9 earned 2,600 RMB or more. The average wage was only 1,228 RMB. In contrast, public documents suggest that such workers can earn between 1,500 and 3,500 RMB per month.
Interestingly, the average age of those with a wage of 1,000 RMB and less was much higher than that of those with a wage over 1,000 RMB (43 versus 26 years). ... The two persons listed as working in a “VTIC satellite factory” had average monthly earnings of 667 and 1,000 RMB respectively."
So these possibly forced labourers have a salary, he knows this at least. And the rest is speculations and "unclear".
... It is unclear whether this form of employment is in fact much more voluntary than that of VTIC graduates.
So he is not clear at all if it's forced, involuntary or voluntary. ...But he knows that they get payed
And his conclusions are that there are no proofs that there is forced labor, but that it is china's task to prove that there's no forced labor.
Before long, it will be up to Chinese companies, and to China as a whole nation, to prove to other countries that their exported products do not involve any form of coerced ethnic minority labor. ... Meanwhile, western and other foreign companies must fully divest their supply chains not only from Xinjiang, but also from Chinese companies with significant operations in that region.
And this is all proof we have of forced labor in Xinjiang, made up by pure speculations from figures, ending with a suggestion to boycott all production in Xinjiang, in a report ordered by the Foreign Ministry at the peak of the Economical Warfare between China and the USA.
So this is what Nigel Adams refers to as credible evidence of widespread use of forced labour. I don't believe that he is particularly credible.
Edit: oh, and BTW every Xinjiang company mentioned in Zenz’ report have gone together to sue him for defamation. It will soon be in trial.