Foxconn and similar manufacturers are always the favorite topic for western media. But the reality is complicated. The bottom line is that in most cases there's

Foxconn and similar manufacturers are always the favorite topic for western media. But the reality is complicated. The bottom line is that in most cases there's no slave labor taking place and nobody forces those workers to stay there. I have a relative who works in a Foxconn factory in Sichuan. She had a lot of other jobs before. She works there not because he's being forced like a slave or whatnot, but simply because Foxconn pays very good salaries compared to other options that she has (this manufacturer in Hengyang might be underpaying but this does not automatically mean that every factory does the same). Yeah, the hours are very long compared to western standards. I also much prefer the way the Europeans find work-life balance. But that is because you are already a very rich society and you can afford that. Also there is also a cultural and historical difference. In China, or Korea, or Japan, wherever in East Asia, working long hours is very normal, be it for low-level workers or high-level executives. This is just a part of the culture. Without it, how could China which was so poor 40 years ago become rich and powerful again this fast? Even the US is much more workaholic than Europe, without the mandatory one-month holiday etc. If you imagine that Foxconn workers are subjected to slave-like treatments as if they were in a plantation or a mine, you can't be further from facts. Yes, I personally prefer to have a better work-life balance, but that's because I can already make the choices. For many underprivileged populace in China, working for Foxconn is the best possible opportunity they can get. Of course I also do acknowledge that even though there's no essential slavery the work conditions can and shall be improved, especially now that China has got a lot richer already. In a sense the industrialists during the industrial revolution can also argue that they were not really forcing workers into "slavery", but the workers had actually no choice whatsoever since every workplace was the same (the modern Chinese factories are definitely much better than those places in the 18th century though). Anyways just wanted to offer a different perspective here. If you actually go there and talk to most of the workers I believe you'd hear a similar answer to that offered by my relative, i.e. they just want to save up some money when they can and this opportunity is as good as it can get under the current social circumstances. They'll likely return to their hometown to start something else after working such a job for a while. I do also believe that the accelerating social inequality in China is a problem that has to be addressed and there should be many more opportunities for the poor. But that's in a way similar to what's happening in the US and not something fundamentally/qualitatively different.