[Update Q4 2022]
Since this thread and petition was started, there have been three significant updates to this situation:
1. Nintendo responded and directly commented on this situation at a shareholder meeting:
Source (Q9).
Furukawa's comments here deny the findings of the ASPI report, which directly linked Nintendo to Uighur forced labour (see below).
2. The United States have introduced legislation banning the import of goods made with forced labour from Xinjiang into the country. It is hoped that this will lead to global supply chain reconfiguration. However, whether compliance is being followed may require another investigation similar in scope to the original ASPI report.
3. The United Nations have released a report finding that the CCP has committed serious human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
In addition to the actions suggested below, future activism should focus on holding these companies to compliance with the US legislation cited above.
Original post continues below.
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What's the problem?
There has been an infrequently-active thread here on Era discussing the Uighur plight at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. Check it out:
www.resetera.com
In short, the CCP are arresting innocent Uighurs in Xinjiang and sending them to concentration camps for 're-education'. The scenes emerging from these camps evoke strong parallels to Nazi Germany, with people being shackled, shaved and loaded onto trains, accounts of forced sterilisation, systematic rape and many other torturous horrors.
This is a sustained effort to wipe out an entire people group – genocide.
Prisoners who the CCP deems suitable for reintegration into society are then shipped out from these camps to work for companies that provide labour for many popular brands, including Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
An important report from The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), published in back in March 2020, drew attention to the implication of these companies in this chain of slavery and genocide. Since the publication of this report nothing of note has been done to respond to the situation, and the gaming media have all but ignored the issue. This is not good enough.
Why this thread?
Many of us have been disheartened by the general apathy in the gaming community towards this issue, including on these message boards. Case in point: the aforementioned thread on Era dedicated to discussing this topic accumulated ~1060 posts in about one year, whereas the most recent Nintendo Direct thread received ~7500 posts in less than a week. These numbers speak to what people value most.
I get it – this is a hideous situation and the majority of us want to pretend it doesn't exist because it produces acute feelings of pain and sadness that are hard to face up to, especially when we consider our own implication in this system as end users. This isn't about shaming people or blaming others, but simply to acknowledge the reality of the situation and the system that we are all implicated in.
Nevertheless, as no one else with a platform or authority in the gaming sector is doing anything about this situation it falls to us to do something about it.
What can I do about it?
First, you can take a minute out of your day to add your name to a petition that will try to draw attention to the issue and get a proper response from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Ideally share it to your social media accounts too.
The petition details the situation and demands Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo divest from suppliers identified in the ASPI report to use forced labour sourced from these camps. If enough of us sign up to it then we may be able to affect some sort of response from these companies.
We'll also need a way to get it before the major players and decision makers at these companies. I know that influential individuals within Xbox frequent these boards, so they might provide a route to Spencer and then Nadella at Microsoft. We will need people with contacts at Sony and Nintendo to step up too.
Again, this will all be dependent on the response the petition gets. If few people sign it and this thread gets buried then it won't make a difference, but I'm putting this out there in the hope that it will.
I want to do more. What else can I do?
1. The first point of call will be to contact your political representative about the issue. Obviously this will differ per country, but below is an evolving list of links to follow to quickly and easily contact your representative. If your country is not on this list, please PM me with details and I will add it:
2. Next, you can contact the companies directly to express your concern. Simply click one of the following mailto links to automatically generate an email addressed to a number of relevant people at these companies. Feel free to modify the placeholder text as you see fit:
3. Stop buying products from these companies. This provides a direct way to impact their business until they agree to complete divestment from the firms identified in the ASPI report. Instead, consider playing through your existing backlog, or buy second-hand, out-of-production consoles and retro games.
4. Donate to charities that work for lobbying and individual relief. LordHuffnPuff has identified a few charities that are worth your consideration, but please be aware that this is not an endorsement. Investigate any organisation yourself before donating:
5. Volunteer for charities that directly support this cause. A starting point to look for volunteer positions include the following:
How can I educate myself and others about this situation?
Since this thread and petition was started, there have been three significant updates to this situation:
1. Nintendo responded and directly commented on this situation at a shareholder meeting:
Shuntaro Furukawa (President of Nintendo) said:
Source (Q9).
Furukawa's comments here deny the findings of the ASPI report, which directly linked Nintendo to Uighur forced labour (see below).
2. The United States have introduced legislation banning the import of goods made with forced labour from Xinjiang into the country. It is hoped that this will lead to global supply chain reconfiguration. However, whether compliance is being followed may require another investigation similar in scope to the original ASPI report.
3. The United Nations have released a report finding that the CCP has committed serious human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
In addition to the actions suggested below, future activism should focus on holding these companies to compliance with the US legislation cited above.
Original post continues below.
---
What's the problem?
There has been an infrequently-active thread here on Era discussing the Uighur plight at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. Check it out:
[BBC] In China, Uighurs 'moved into factory forced labour' for foreign brands Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony
It was recommended that I cross post this from EtcetEra for awareness, particularly as we move towards a new generation of consoles. Letting people make informed decisions about where they're willing to put their money is the best thing anyone can do here. Here's the latest on the various...
www.resetera.com
In short, the CCP are arresting innocent Uighurs in Xinjiang and sending them to concentration camps for 're-education'. The scenes emerging from these camps evoke strong parallels to Nazi Germany, with people being shackled, shaved and loaded onto trains, accounts of forced sterilisation, systematic rape and many other torturous horrors.
This is a sustained effort to wipe out an entire people group – genocide.
Prisoners who the CCP deems suitable for reintegration into society are then shipped out from these camps to work for companies that provide labour for many popular brands, including Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
An important report from The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), published in back in March 2020, drew attention to the implication of these companies in this chain of slavery and genocide. Since the publication of this report nothing of note has been done to respond to the situation, and the gaming media have all but ignored the issue. This is not good enough.
Why this thread?
Many of us have been disheartened by the general apathy in the gaming community towards this issue, including on these message boards. Case in point: the aforementioned thread on Era dedicated to discussing this topic accumulated ~1060 posts in about one year, whereas the most recent Nintendo Direct thread received ~7500 posts in less than a week. These numbers speak to what people value most.
I get it – this is a hideous situation and the majority of us want to pretend it doesn't exist because it produces acute feelings of pain and sadness that are hard to face up to, especially when we consider our own implication in this system as end users. This isn't about shaming people or blaming others, but simply to acknowledge the reality of the situation and the system that we are all implicated in.
Nevertheless, as no one else with a platform or authority in the gaming sector is doing anything about this situation it falls to us to do something about it.
What can I do about it?
First, you can take a minute out of your day to add your name to a petition that will try to draw attention to the issue and get a proper response from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Ideally share it to your social media accounts too.
The petition details the situation and demands Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo divest from suppliers identified in the ASPI report to use forced labour sourced from these camps. If enough of us sign up to it then we may be able to affect some sort of response from these companies.
We'll also need a way to get it before the major players and decision makers at these companies. I know that influential individuals within Xbox frequent these boards, so they might provide a route to Spencer and then Nadella at Microsoft. We will need people with contacts at Sony and Nintendo to step up too.
Again, this will all be dependent on the response the petition gets. If few people sign it and this thread gets buried then it won't make a difference, but I'm putting this out there in the hope that it will.
I want to do more. What else can I do?
1. The first point of call will be to contact your political representative about the issue. Obviously this will differ per country, but below is an evolving list of links to follow to quickly and easily contact your representative. If your country is not on this list, please PM me with details and I will add it:
2. Next, you can contact the companies directly to express your concern. Simply click one of the following mailto links to automatically generate an email addressed to a number of relevant people at these companies. Feel free to modify the placeholder text as you see fit:
3. Stop buying products from these companies. This provides a direct way to impact their business until they agree to complete divestment from the firms identified in the ASPI report. Instead, consider playing through your existing backlog, or buy second-hand, out-of-production consoles and retro games.
4. Donate to charities that work for lobbying and individual relief. LordHuffnPuff has identified a few charities that are worth your consideration, but please be aware that this is not an endorsement. Investigate any organisation yourself before donating:
5. Volunteer for charities that directly support this cause. A starting point to look for volunteer positions include the following:
How can I educate myself and others about this situation?
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