International Law

China's Foxconn Suicides. Explained.

By Dan

This is the first I have written on the Foxconn suicides because until now I have felt I had nothing to contribute. I still feel I have nothing to contribute, but I like Jack Perkowski's analysis so much, I am going to quote and refer to it. In his post, "The Foxconn Suicides," Perkowski gives a number of explanations as to why he does not believe those suicides are the direct result of sweatshop conditions, but I found the following two most convincing.

-- Electronics have been manufactured for many years in plants like the one operated by Foxconn. In my time here, I've never heard of such a suicide epidemic. Why all of a sudden?

-- At the same time that all of this is happening, there has been a spate of attacks on schools and schoolchildren in China, which is also unusual and unprecedented. I'm not a psychologist, but there must be a broader, sociological explanation for both recent epidemics.

Go here for the full post.

What do you think? 

Full post as published by China Law Blog on June 11, 2010 (boomark / email).