‘Let’s defend our rights!’: Protests by employees broke out in China on Wednesday at the world’s largest iPhone factory, owned by Taiwanese subcontractor Foxconn, due to the zero Covid policy, according to images broadcast on the Twitter and Weibo social networks.
The factory is located in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province. It is a huge industrial site, dubbed “iPhone city”, which typically employs some 200,000 people, most of whom reside on site in dormitories.
China tirelessly pursues a zero Covid health policy, which involves strict confinements, quarantines for those who test positive and almost daily PCR tests, arousing growing discontent among the population.
Certain categories of people, in particular students and workers, are sometimes confined for many weeks in a row to campuses or production sites, without the possibility of moving freely.
Footage of the protests, verified by AFP, shows a crowd of workers marching down a street. Some face people in white full body suits and riot police.
On a video, filmed at night, a man appears with a bloody face. Offscreen, we hear another say: “They hit people, they hit people. Do they have a conscience?”
AFP was able to verify this video in particular thanks to the geolocation which made it possible to recognize one of the buildings and the barriers near the housing of employees on the site of the factory.
Another video shows destroyed Covid test cabins and an overturned vehicle.
In other footage, hundreds of people in white overalls can be seen standing on a road near the factory dormitories.
The person filming from an adjacent building says: “It’s starting again. It’s been since last night and until this morning.”
“They’re charging!”
Another video clip apparently shows security guards kicking a person who appears to be a worker lying on a road.
And on a video broadcast live, at night, dozens of workers shout “Let’s defend our rights!” in front of rows of police and a police vehicle with flashing lights.
Then the author of the video shouts “They’re charging!” et “Tear gas bombs!”.
A video clip of the same nighttime protest, taken from a different angle, shows workers setting off fire extinguishers at police officers outside of camera range.
In a photo taken during the day, we see the charred remains of a gate, apparently burned during the night.
A video also shot during the day shows several fire engines and police officers in white coveralls, while a voice in a loudspeaker chants: “All workers, please return to your accommodations, do not associate with illegal minority elements”.
The hashtag #Foxconnriots appeared to be censored Wednesday afternoon on Chinese social media, including Weibo. A few posts referring to the protests, however, remained online.
Neither Foxconn nor Apple immediately responded to a request for comment from AFP on Wednesday.
Foxconn is a large group that assembles electronic products for many international brands.
The Taiwanese company, Apple’s main subcontractor, has been faced in recent months with an increase in Covid-19 cases at its huge Zhengzhou site.
Leak of employees
Foxconn had decided to confine the area, with the workers inside.
But hundreds of panicked workers then fled on foot, some complaining of the chaos and disorganization reigning there.
To keep the factory afloat, the company offered large bonuses to the remaining employees and tried to recruit new workers.
The American giant Apple, of which the iPhone is the flagship, had admitted in early November that the confinement of the site had “temporarily assigned” factory production, a blow before the end of year holiday sales period.
Foxconn is the largest private sector employer in China, with more than one million employees across the country in about 30 factories and research institutes.