THE United States on Wednesday identified China as the global hotspot for goods made with forced labor, highlighting growing concern over treatment of Uighur Muslims in the country’s Xinjiang region.
The US Department of Labor (DOL) published its biennial list of goods believed to be produced by child or forced labor that included 17 Chinese-made products, from gloves to Christmas decorations.
The list featured 155 goods from 77 countries, with about two dozen items added since the 2018 report such as Ethiopian khat, a plant used as a stimulant, and fish from Taiwan’s distant-water fleet.
The Xinjiang region in northwest China is home to a large population of Uighur people, a minority that faces repression from the Chinese government.
The United Nations has said reports suggest 1 million Uighur Muslims have been detained in camps there.
China denies mistreatment of the Uighurs and says the camps are vocational training centers needed to fight extremism. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
