Our gaming hardware is linked to slave labour, concentration camps and genocide. Here's what to do about it.

[Ogni-XR21]

Signed and donated.

I'll leave this video here, as a German it makes me sick to see the VW boss lie about the situation. With our history I would have expected a different approach/reaction. But you can't anger your Chinese overlords because: money.





To be honest, I already have a PS5 and SX, so supporting this cause is the least I can do.

 

[Salient_Lion]

This was posted on the BBC earlier today:

'If the others go I'll go': Inside China's scheme to transfer Uighurs into work

A high-level Chinese study says a massive work scheme is reducing Uighur population density in Xinjiang.

www.bbc.co.uk

State-level evidence of forced labour as a means to destroy minorities.

Some choice quotes:

China's policy of transferring hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang to new jobs often far from home is leading to a thinning out of their populations, according to a high-level Chinese study seen by the BBC.

The government denies that it is attempting to alter the demographics of its far-western region and says the job transfers are designed to raise incomes and alleviate chronic rural unemployment and poverty.

But our evidence suggests that - alongside the re-education camps built across Xinjiang in recent years - the policy involves a high risk of coercion and is similarly designed to assimilate minorities by changing their lifestyles and thinking.

Click to shrink...

The video report, broadcast by China's Communist Party-run news channel, shows a group of officials in the centre of the village, sitting under a red banner advertising jobs in Anhui Province, 4,000km away.

After two full days, the reporter's narration says, not a single person from the village has come forward to sign up, and so the officials begin moving from house to house.

What follows is some of the most compelling footage of China's massive campaign to transfer Uighurs, Kazakhs and other minorities in Xinjiang into factory and manual labouring jobs, often considerable distances from their homes.

Although it was broadcast in 2017, around the time the policy began to be intensified, the video has not featured in international news reporting until now.

The officials speak to one father who is clearly reluctant to send his daughter, Buzaynap, so far away.
"There must be someone else who'd like to go," he tries to plead. "We can make our living here, let us live a life like this."
They speak directly to 19-year old Buzaynap, telling her that, if she stays she will be married soon and never able to leave.
"Have a think, will you go?" they ask.
Under the intense scrutiny of the government officials and state-TV journalists she shakes her head and replies, "I won't go."
Still, the pressure continues until eventually, weeping, she concedes.

Click to shrink...

Professor Laura Murphy is an expert in human rights and contemporary slavery at the UK's Sheffield Hallam University who lived in Xinjiang between 2004 and 2005 and has visited since.

"This video is remarkable," she told the BBC.

"The Chinese government continually says that people are volunteering to engage in these programmes, but this absolutely reveals that this is a system of coercion that people are not allowed to resist."

Click to shrink...

Based on field work conducted in Xinjiang's Hotan Prefecture in May 2018, the report was inadvertently made publicly available online in December 2019 and then subsequently taken down a few months later.

Written by a group of academics from Nankai University in the Chinese city of Tianjin, it concludes that the mass labour transfers are "an important method to influence, meld and assimilate Uighur minorities" and bring about a "transformation of their thinking."

Uprooting them and relocating them elsewhere in the region or in other Chinese provinces, it says, "reduces Uighur population density."

Click to shrink...

The Nankai report authors write glowingly of an effort to combat poverty underwritten by a "guarantee of voluntariness" in the work placements, and with the factories allowing the workers to "leave and return freely."

But those claims are somewhat at odds with the level of detail they provide about the way the policy works in practice.

There are "targets" to be reached, with Hotan Prefecture alone - at the time the study was undertaken - having already exported 250,000 workers, one fifth of its total working age population.

There is pressure to meet the targets, with recruiting stations set up "in every village" and officials tasked to "mobilize collectively" and "visit households," just as in 19-year-old Buzaynap's case.

And there are signs of control at every stage, with all recruits put through "political thought education," then transported to the factories in groups - sometimes as many as hundreds at a time - and "led and accompanied by political cadres in order to implement security and management."

Click to shrink...

Three months after Buzaynap was shown leaving her village to begin her political education training, the Chinese state-TV crew meet her again, this time in the Huafu Textile Company in Anhui.

The theme of assimilation is, once again, central to the news report.

In one scene, Buzaynap is close to tears as she is scolded for her mistakes, but eventually, a transformation is said to be taking place.

"The timid girl who didn't speak and kept her head down," we are told, "is gaining authority at work."

"Lifestyles are changing and thoughts are changing."

Click to shrink...

Further synopsis, including footage of Buzaynap's coercion, can be viewed here:

Could anyone tell me if Nvidia or AMD is using unconsenting, sacrificial, Uyghur bodies to manufacture their graphics cards?

Click to shrink...

Here's a list of brands implicated in the ASPI report:

In all, ASPI's research has identified 82 foreign and Chinese companies potentially directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through abusive labour transfer programs as recently as 2019: Abercrombie & Fitch, Acer, Adidas, Alstom, Amazon, Apple, ASUS, BAIC Motor, Bestway, BMW, Bombardier, Bosch, BYD, Calvin Klein, Candy, Carter's, Cerruti 1881, Changan Automobile, Cisco, CRRC, Dell, Electrolux, Fila, Founder Group, GAC Group (automobiles), Gap, Geely Auto, General Motors, Google, Goertek, H&M, Haier, Hart Schaffner Marx, Hisense, Hitachi, HP, HTC, Huawei, iFlyTek, Jack & Jones, Jaguar, Japan Display Inc., L.L.Bean, Lacoste, Land Rover, Lenovo, LG, Li-Ning, Mayor, Meizu, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Mitsumi, Nike, Nintendo, Nokia, Oculus, Oppo, Panasonic, Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma, SAIC Motor, Samsung, SGMW, Sharp, Siemens, Skechers, Sony, TDK, Tommy Hilfiger, Toshiba, Tsinghua Tongfang, Uniqlo, Victoria's Secret, Vivo, Volkswagen, Xiaomi, Zara, Zegna, ZTE. Some brands are linked with multiple factories.

Click to shrink...

AMD and Nvidia are not specifically identified, but a number of their partners (ASUS, ACER etc.) are.

While there is no harm in signing a petition and I am signing as well....

I really hope people understand that only signing a petition will not change the situation. Be it 1,000 signatures or 1 million. We have seen this time and time again with many past online petitions about the slave labor with tech products in China.

If you want to enact change you need to alter your buying habits where you can. That is the most important tool we all have. The only thing this companies listen to is whether they are taking a hit financially or not.

If people sign a petition but do not change spending habits at all there is zero incentive for companies to change their ways. Don't let this just be an empty gesture. Don't sign a petition then go right back to refreshing Wario64 for PS5 stock updates.

Click to shrink...

Agreed. To begin with though it's easier to organise people to commit to a petition than a boycott, and it gives people a low-commitment investment in the issue. This investment can then be built upon to push towards other methods of action, such as product boycotts and non-violent direct action.

Signed it!

One thing I feel I should mention, I wrote an article about this back when that original thread popped up (I won't link it since I don't want to come across as self-congratulatory) and I didn't really get any blowback from readers or companies. Granted, we're a smaller site than most, but I'm just kinda baffled why other, far more major and influential sites haven't covered it.

Even if they don't do the nitty-gritty research themselves, there are plenty of trustworthy sources out there to cite instead.

A small number of people not buying products won't do much when the greater world isn't aware of what is happening. It needs to hit a level of PR disaster for them.

Click to shrink...

Thank you for writing about this and using your platform. Unfortunately I can't find any other mention of this in gaming media either, which makes it so easy for people to forget about. One of the reasons I decided to start this petition/thread was to try and hold myself to account for forgetting the situation and my own implication in it as a user.

 

[kmfdmpig]

What's difficult, I think, is trying to simultaneously get people to be better to Chinese people (or Asian people in general who have experienced a major increase in hate crimes recently) while also trying to get politicians to become less trusting and accommodating of the CCP.
Standing up to the CCP, calling it on its BS and not accepting its increasingly aggressive foreign policy stances (Canada, South China Sea, etc...) is important, but it's also important to recognize that the government is not the people and sadly the rise in hate crimes shows that many cannot make that distinction as they should.

 

[Speely]

As an aside, this is a great reason to build a PC. You can research every part, and you have access to thousands of amazing indie games made by developers not contributing to slave labor.

Edit: please stop sucking the AAA dick. They won't be there in the morning.

 

[Discontent]

Much respect to Era mods for pinning this thread.

 

[Hieroph]

Play Retro.

Reduce
Reuse
Repair
Recycle
Recover

Besides raising awareness about the issue, maintaining and using older hardware instead of buying new hardware is a great way to keep your gaming activity going, in particular during the pandemic. Nobody should suffer conditions like these, least of all because of video games, so by foregoing new hardware and playing on older systems you can mitigate the issue on your own part.

Doesn't mean you have to give up new games completely. Just cutting back on your hardware purchases helps.

 

[Speely]

Play Retro.

Reduce
Reuse
Repair
Recycle
Recover

Besides raising awareness about the issue, maintaining and using older hardware instead of buying new hardware is a great way to keep your gaming activity going, in particular during the pandemic. Nobody should suffer conditions like these, least of all because of video games, so by foregoing new hardware and playing on older systems you can mitigate the issue on your own part.

Doesn't mean you have to give up new games completely. Just cutting back on your hardware purchases helps.

Click to shrink...

All of this!

 

[Vris]

Just signed. No new hardware for me in a long time, that's for sure.

Will keep that company list handy too.

 

[Wakawun]

Nice to see this pinned! Thanks Era.

 

[Scrappy-Fan92]

What's difficult, I think, is trying to simultaneously get people to be better to Chinese people (or Asian people in general who have experienced a major increase in hate crimes recently) while also trying to get politicians to become less trusting and accommodating of the CCP.
Standing up to the CCP, calling it on its BS and not accepting its increasingly aggressive foreign policy stances (Canada, South China Sea, etc...) is important, but it's also important to recognize that the government is not the people and sadly the rise in hate crimes shows that many cannot make that distinction as they should.

Click to shrink...

This is imperative, especially the bolded.

 

[Adventureracing]

Play Retro.

Reduce
Reuse
Repair
Recycle
Recover

Besides raising awareness about the issue, maintaining and using older hardware instead of buying new hardware is a great way to keep your gaming activity going, in particular during the pandemic. Nobody should suffer conditions like these, least of all because of video games, so by foregoing new hardware and playing on older systems you can mitigate the issue on your own part.

Doesn't mean you have to give up new games completely. Just cutting back on your hardware purchases helps.

Click to shrink...

Also works out great for your wallet.

 

[foxuzamaki]

So it wont let me sign the pettion, I got to where it has my account and to leave a comment but everytime i tap the sign the petition button nothing happens.
This isnt the 1st time this happened to me and I'm wondering if it's because I'm on the phone

 

[texhnolyze]

Play Retro.

Reduce
Reuse
Repair
Recycle
Recover

Besides raising awareness about the issue, maintaining and using older hardware instead of buying new hardware is a great way to keep your gaming activity going, in particular during the pandemic. Nobody should suffer conditions like these, least of all because of video games, so by foregoing new hardware and playing on older systems you can mitigate the issue on your own part.

Doesn't mean you have to give up new games completely. Just cutting back on your hardware purchases helps.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, so much this.

There are thousands of games released each year, there must be some good ones that we haven't played yet. Instead of jumping to the next shiny toy to play the next shiny game, why hold on for a bit and play some older games first? Old doesn't mean games from decades ago. If you already have a PS4 and planning to get a PS5, just play the games that you may have missed first. These poor Uighur people are far more important than your FOMO.

Also, isn't it a general consensus here that gaming is just a hobby and not something that defines our identity? Then proof it.

 

[capitalCORN]

Choose ethical! Choose Africa!

Why Cobalt Mining in the DRC Needs Urgent Attention

Cobalt is an essential mineral used for batteries in electric cars, computers, and cell phones. Demand for cobalt is increasing as more electric cars are sold, particularly in Europe.

www.cfr.org

 

[P-Tux7]

I wonder, what specs we would have if everyone owned the same computer parts (assembled of course), and they weren't made with slave labor.

 

[Sage Anahata]

Here's a list of brands implicated in the ASPI report:



AMD and Nvidia are not specifically identified, but a number of their partners (ASUS, ACER etc.) are.

Click to shrink...

Thanks I appreciate this a lot. Looks like I'll be changing my back order from the Asus TUF to the EVGA FTW3.

Although I'm sad to see LG partcipating in this. I was really wanting an LG CX, and Samsung too means potential alternatives are rapidly dwindling.

 

[Cokesouls]

Thank you so much for this.

 

[rrc1594]

Thank you for this threads.

 

[Sunfyre]

Signed and chipped in a few bucks. It's the minimum we should do.

 

[purseowner]

Good thread. Glad it's pinned. Signing.

 

[TRV]

Signed, great to see this thread. Hope we can keep discussion going and think of more actions to take!

 

[VRMaster1]

Signed and donated. You're right, this is a terrible situation, but at least this is something instead of miring in my own helplessness.

 

[Ushay]

Signed, and fully agreed.

 

[rokkerkory]

Signed.
This should be a sticky.
If you care about this hobby please sign.
Thanks OP.

 

[The007JiM]

Already signed some days ago.
Thanks for sharing this thread.

 

[rawbuchanan]

Signed.

 

[Mexen]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention

 

[Salient_Lion]

For our friends from the US looking to do more, I've updated OP to link to https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/ This provides a quick and convenient way to contact your elected official. If you think there's a better link people can use to conveniently contact their representatives in the US, let me know and I will update the OP.

Also, posters from other countries than the UK and US please let me know the best way to contact your represetatives so I can add this to the OP.

 

[GhostTrick]

Just a question, now that this is established that those brands participate in slavery in working camps, are threads about promoting hardware from those companies or celebrating sales and such going to be banned ?

 

[Deleted member 1248]

Just a question, now that this is established that those brands participate in slavery in working camps, are threads about promoting hardware from those companies or celebrating sales and such going to be banned ?

Click to shrink...

So because we know that ethical consumption is impossible, the goal is now to see if trolls can use this fact to paralyze the only gaming forum on the internet that even attempts to be socially conscious.

Interesting hobby some people have.

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

Signed and pitched in.

 

[Kordelle]

signed, thanks for pinning it, it needs much more awareness.

 

[GhostTrick]

So because we know that ethical consumption is impossible, the goal is now to see if trolls can use this fact to paralyze the only gaming forum on the internet that even attempts to be socially conscious.

Interesting hobby some people have.

Click to shrink...

If ERA is paralyzed because you cant "promote or celebrate hardware" then it means it's just a PR tool. Which I doubt it is.
I didnt say "we should ban hardware threads".

I asked if threads about sales or promoting hardware would be banned.

Because yeah, I think it's rather fucked up uf we come to the conclusion that those hardware are made by slaves in working camp and that we celebrate sales milestone or promote announcements of said hardware.

But go on, label me as a troll.

 

[UltimusXI]

Great thread, thanks for doing this, added my name to the list! I've been checking pretty much everything I buy for a 'Made in China' label for a while now and buying alternatives, while buying more second hand and doing longer with my electronics period. No next gen hardware for me, my backlog is big enough as it is anyway.

 

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Duly signed.

Also, posters from other countries than the UK and US please let me know the best way to contact your represetatives so I can add this to the OP.

Click to shrink...

This is how you email the representatives from the Lower House in Brazil directly: https://www2.camara.leg.br/deputados/pesquisa/fale-com-o-deputado

 

[Izanu]

Signed and donated. Thanks for helping keep the issue alive.

 

[Scrappy-Fan92]

For our friends from the US looking to do more, I've updated OP to link to https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/ This provides a quick and convenient way to contact your elected official. If you think there's a better link people can use to conveniently contact their representatives in the US, let me know and I will update the OP.

Also, posters from other countries than the UK and US please let me know the best way to contact your represetatives so I can add this to the OP.

Click to shrink...

Thank you. I've contacted the offices of the President, my Senators, and my House Representative.

 

[DrWong]

I'm in. Signed.

 

[Deleted member 8257]

1500 is still a pitifully low number. this needs signatures in the millions. Really cannot expect anything else from gamers.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Cross posting from the other thread:

• #1,088

If anyone has access to the BBC News channel, it's currently airing an episode of Hardtalk which is an interview programme. It's with Jewher Ilham, a Uighur rights activist.

It should be available on iPlayer later. Some of the things this lady is saying...my word. Her sister was arrested and is serving a 10-year jail sentence because she got stopped on the way to the mall and they found a picture of their dad on her phone.

The interviewee is thankfully no longer in China, but her family members there are probably treated much worse and/or are in danger because of her raising awareness about these issues.

 

[spam musubi]

So because we know that ethical consumption is impossible, the goal is now to see if trolls can use this fact to paralyze the only gaming forum on the internet that even attempts to be socially conscious.

Interesting hobby some people have.

Click to shrink...

If your definition of socially conscious excludes being conscious about literal slave labor in concentration camps, what is even the point? It's very hard to even think of a worse and more obvious crime against humanity than this one being perpetrated systemically right now. That basically implies that the issues of those people don't matter to us at all, because they're not visible enough to us and too far away from us culturally.

 

[Run Goku]

For our friends from the US looking to do more, I've updated OP to link to https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/ This provides a quick and convenient way to contact your elected official. If you think there's a better link people can use to conveniently contact their representatives in the US, let me know and I will update the OP.

Click to shrink...

Thank you; I've sent out letters to federal and state representatives (President, Senate, House, Governor).

Just a question, now that this is established that those brands participate in slavery in working camps, are threads about promoting hardware from those companies or celebrating sales and such going to be banned ?

Click to shrink...

It is a little jarring to see this topic stickied and then to scroll down and see threads about new Switch revisions or whatever. Not sure what the answer is there.

1500 is still a pitifully low number. this needs signatures in the millions. Really cannot expect anything else from gamers.

Click to shrink...

Yeah this is really low. How do you promote something like this? Run ads?

 

[GhostTrick]

Thank you; I've sent out letters to federal and state representatives (President, Senate, House, Governor).



It is a little jarring to see this topic stickied and then to scroll down and see threads about new Switch revisions or whatever. Not sure what the answer is there.



Yeah this is really low. How do you promote something like this? Run ads?

Click to shrink...

Sign the petition but dont forget to hype up the next hardware.
Also let's not forget the usual "OMG 150 MILLIONS SALES" milestone.

Just a few days ago there was a thread about how of a miracle a 399 dollars PS5 DE was to be that cheap and containt that much great technology.

How the fuck is that not obscene when there's this thread stickied.

 

[Maxime]

How did I miss this thread. Signed and donated! Thank you for this thread Salient_Lion, and ResetEra staff for pinning it! 💪

 

[rokkerkory]

Yeah thanks for the pin!

 

[HOTSPUR]

signed. thanks for putting out the good word.

 

[Scrappy-Fan92]

Just sent an email to my governor.

 

[ChronoMonarch]

I've signed it and paid a contribution to it. Thank you for this.

 

[Rouk']

Just noticed this thread. Thanks for the great work OP!

And signed.

 

[Deleted member 5593]

I only just discovered this thread. Signed and donated. Hope more outlets pick this up.