Volkswagen Group announced on Wednesday that it would end operations in occupied East Turkestan and Xinjiang “provinces” ruled by the Chinese Communist Party and sell local facilities to Chinese companies.
The announcement came in the form of a press statement declaring further commitment to Communist China and the company's partnership with China. National government Automobile company SAIC has announced in a major announcement regarding its expansion in China that “alternative economic solutions” to reduce production of non-electric vehicles are underway, including the sale of Volkswagen sites across East Turkestan. It was buried deep in the sentence.
Volkswagen's operations in East Turkestan have long drawn disgust and anger from human rights activists. The occupied territories are home to indigenous Uyghurs as well as large communities of non-Han ethnic groups such as Kazakhs and Kyrgyzstans. Since at least 2017, the Chinese Communist Party has carried out genocide against indigenous peoples through the establishment of concentration camps, widespread forced sterilization, the theft of children from their families' homes, live organ harvesting, and slavery. . At its peak, as many as 3 million people were imprisoned in Uyghur concentration camps, which China called vocational education and training centers. Extensive evidence from Volkswagen's operations in the region showed that the company profited from the enslavement of Uyghurs. Most recently, in February, revelations revealed evidence that the Volkswagen SAIC test track in Turpan, East Turkestan, was built by slaves.
Volkswagen is sale The East Turkestan location is entrusted to an organization called Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection and Certification (SMVIC). The sale includes facilities in the regional capital Urumqi, as well as the controversial Turpan test track and another test track in Anting.
led by Volkswagen announcement There was also news that the life of the joint venture with SAIC Motor was extended until 2040, but there was no mention of human rights concerns surrounding operations in East Turkestan and the criticism the company has faced for working in East Turkestan. I didn't.
“Volkswagen and SAIC are pioneers in personal mobility in China,” said Ralf Brandstetter, Volkswagen's China director. “40 years ago we jointly founded one of the first international joint ventures in the region. With this long-term extension, we emphasize the importance of this cooperation and the importance of the Chinese market for the Volkswagen Group. emphasize the importance.”
Volkswagen has long faced criticism for its operations in East Turkestan. In 2019, the company claimed that its presence in Urumqi was “purely economic-based” and denied any connection with “forced labor.” The company's China CEO Stefan Wallenstein told the BBC in 2020 that Volkswagen argued that any suggestion that Ng was involved in slavery was inaccurate. Uighurs for salepublished by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
“[W]”We have confirmed that there is no forced labor in our production sites, and we have confirmed this in particular in Urumqi, and we guarantee that there is no forced labor,” he asserted.
'Forced labor' is one of several practices recognized It is recognized as modern slavery by the United Nations. Others include debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking.
Volkswagen has repeatedly denied that it is involved in slavery, but this has not quelled protests from human rights activists and concerns from investors. 2022, Morgan Stanley Capital International issued It issued an environmental, social and governance (ESG) warning against the company due to its links to slavery in East Turkestan, raising a “red flag” for ESG violations.
Brandstätter, who celebrated the SAIC partnership this week, claimed that a personal inspection of the Urumqi factory in February 2023 found no indication that slaves were confined and working within the facility. did.
“There is no evidence that there were any human rights violations at this factory, and that has not changed after my visit,” he insisted. “I have no reason to doubt that information and my impressions. Of course, regardless of that, we will continue our investigation.”
“Our partners care deeply about and are committed to ensuring a positive atmosphere and decent working conditions,” he added, referring to SAIC.
A year later, a German newspaper handelsblatthas released a bombshell report, in collaboration with prominent human rights researcher Adrian Zenz, exposing extensive evidence that the Turpan experimental line was built, at least in part, by slaves. Slavery was orchestrated through a now-defunct state-run enterprise called the “Xinjiang Test Track Project.”
“The organization not only employed Uyghur migrant workers through so-called “poverty alleviation'' projects, but also actively participated in government work teams monitoring Uyghur families and promoted assimilationist “ethnic unity.'' '' activities and encouraged Uyghur children,'' Zenz explained. study Chinese diligently [Mandarin]and to facilitate the transfer of surplus Uyghur workers to state-arranged jobs. ”
Zenz praised Volkswagen's withdrawal from East Turkistan on Wednesday, calling it “incredible news.”
“Volkswagen will completely withdraw from Xinjiang and sell both its factory and test track. A huge victory for the Uyghur cause,” he wrote on social media. “This comes after our work exposed forced labor and flawed factory audits related to Test Track.”
