China Labor Watch’s Executive Director and Founder published a new op-ed in The Hill on why Chinese companies must be held accountable for labor abuses overseas. 🌍 From BYD-linked projects in Hungary and Brazil to Belt and Road worksites worldwide, workers have reported wage theft, unsafe conditions, passport confiscation, and forced labor risks. ⚖️ China’s new outbound investment rules state that companies must respect workers’ rights and host-country laws. These standards must be meaningfully enforced. China Labor Watch will continue documenting abuses, supporting workers, and calling for accountability wherever Chinese companies operate. Workers’ rights do not stop at the border. You can read more here: thehill.com/opinion/congress…

This latest discovery exposes a shocking case of trafficking and forced labor in Wuhan. On June 15, a disabled worker was found in in Huangpi District, having been bought by a foreman 20 years ago for 10,000 yuan and forced to work without pay ever since. This is not just wage theft — it is human trafficking, disability-based exploitation, and a grave violation of labor rights. China Labor Watch calls for urgent investigation, victim protection, full compensation, and accountability for all individuals and systems that enabled this abuse for two decades.

🚨 BREAKING: U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a Withhold Release Order against Serbia Zijin Copper, detaining all copper imports tied to the Chinese-owned operation over evidence of forced labor. Investigators documented six ILO indicators — withheld wages, retained passports, intimidation, restricted movement, abuse of vulnerability and excessive overtime. It's the fourth such order this fiscal year. The findings echo what China Labor Watch and other monitors have long reported about labor abuses across Chinese-run operations abroad. Importers must now export, destroy, or prove their goods are clean. Enforcement against forced labor is tightening. You can read more here: cbp.gov/newsroom/national-me…

A year without a single day off should never be normal. A worker on China National Chemical Engineering No. 7 Construction’s GCC natural gas project in Russia posted about working an entire year without rest. In the comments, the worker said three months of wages were being withheld. Reports from the project in Russia’s Baltic region also point to passport confiscation. This is not “hard work.” It is a serious labor rights warning sign: overwork, wage withholding, and restrictions on movement. China Labor Watch calls for immediate wage payment, rest protections, passport return, and accountability for companies profiting from worker exploitation abroad.

Scam compounds don’t just steal money — they steal freedom. Vietnamese police have stopped a transnational network from setting up a large-scale online scam center linked to Cambodia, with Chinese nationals reportedly among those involved. Behind these operations are urgent workers’ rights concerns: deceptive recruitment, debt, document confiscation, confinement, threats, and forced labor. Crackdowns must protect victims, not punish exploited workers. Organizers, recruiters, and profiteers must be held accountable. China Labor Watch calls for stronger cross-border action to combat forced labor, defend migrant workers, and protect labor rights across Southeast Asia. You can read more here: zaobao.com.sg/news/sea/story…

“Nine yuan an hour.” As graduation season begins in Guangdong, crowds of young people are lining up outside factories for summer jobs—only to face wages as low as 9 yuan ($1.25) per hour. In one viral video, a manager tells applicants: “If you can’t take it, leave.” Almost no one does. Screenshots from labor groups suggest some factories offer 14–17 yuan/hour, while others predict workers will soon compete for jobs paying just 8 yuan/hour. Many lack social insurance or housing fund benefits. For students and young workers, the summer job rush has become a race to the bottom. You can read more here:

A Henan rural bank scandal exposes how weak oversight can devastate ordinary people. A low-income villager who reportedly did not understand “loans” found a 200,000-yuan debt under their name, with subsistence funds automatically deducted each month. Authorities say three nominee loans totaling 790,000 yuan were found and 15 people punished. This is not only a banking issue; it is a labor rights and social protection issue. Workers and vulnerable residents depend on wages, benefits, and basic subsidies to survive. When financial institutions abuse power, they strip people of security, dignity, and the ability to defend their rights. You can read the full story here: xitter.cf/whyyoutouzhele/status/…

A Henan rural bank scandal exposes how weak oversight can devastate ordinary people. A low-income villager who reportedly did not understand “loans” found a 200,000-yuan debt under their name, with subsistence funds automatically deducted each month. Authorities say three nominee loans totaling 790,000 yuan were found and 15 people punished. This is not only a banking issue; it is a labor rights and social protection issue. Workers and vulnerable residents depend on wages, benefits, and basic subsidies to survive. When financial institutions abuse power, they strip people of security, dignity, and the ability to defend their rights. You can read the full story here: xitter.cf/whyyoutouzhele/status/…

There has been a wave of collective labor actions across China, showing recurring problems of unpaid wages, missing social insurance and housing fund contributions, wage deductions, and forced dormitory relocations. Cases include Mia Precision workers in Dongguan demanding housing fund payments, female workers at Chengdu Yecheng Technology protesting repeated dormitory moves, Wenzhou Xinyi Shoe Factory workers clashing with police over unpaid wages, Lishui Aima Vehicle workers striking against wage cuts, and Yunfu Changli Ceramics workers blocking the factory for three days to recover six months of arrears. These disputes reflect workers’ struggle for basic labor rights. You can read more here: at.laborinfocn6.com/articles…

The New York Times reviewed 34 Chinese social-media accounts and over 400 posts on Douyin and Xiaohongshu promoting goods made in North Korean factories—wigs, false eyelashes, stuffed toys, and crocheted bags—touting thousands of cheap, skilled workers, some laboring 16 hours straight. Such openly advertised joint ventures violate U.N. sanctions. The videos signal warming China–North Korea ties: official trade neared $1 billion in early 2026, up 23%, and Xi Jinping visited Pyongyang on Monday. Much activity centers on Rason's special economic zone, where laborers live under military-style discipline, eat communally, and work beneath propaganda slogans reinforcing loyalty to Kim Jong-un. nytimes.com/2026/06/08/world…

Shanghai Autowise (仙途智能), a company producing driverless street-sweeping vehicles once courted by Beijing and reportedly holding a 3-billion-yuan contract, has faced mass wage arrears since 2025. Around 120 workers were laid off within three months, with core department heads departing one after another—even the HR rep told a caller, "I've left too, and I'm owed wages too." Most strikingly, some employees who won court judgments still couldn't recover their wages, because the company's accounts held no executable assets; they received only a tiny "consolation payment." It's a textbook case of China's wave of collapsing tech startups: legally actionable on paper, yet a winning judgment proves effectively worthless. finance.sina.com.cn/tob/2026…

Yesterday, on the 37th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, China Labor Watch's Executive Director and Founder @liqiangnyc published an article on his experiences and perspectives. He wrote that the protests included many workers and that the crackdown has reinforced a political order that made independent worker organizing nearly impossible. You can read the full article here: thediplomat.com/2026/06/tian… #humanrights #workersrights #laborrights #nonprofit #chinalaborwatch

An article by BBC Brazil looks at the rescue operation of 163 Chinese workers who were constructing the BYD Camaçari facility in Brazil in 2024. The article cites the complaint China Labor Watch filed regarding similar abuses at BYD's facility in the city of Szeged, Hungary. Read more below: bbc.com/portuguese/articles/…

An article released by the Guardian today highlights the findings of CLW's recent report into the BYD Szeged facility: seven-day work weeks and 'debt bondage'. These are serious violations of EU and Hungarian labor laws. theguardian.com/global-devel…

Chinese EV giant BYD is under scrutiny in the EU after three members of the European Parliament called for an investigation into alleged labor abuses at its Hungary factory. This is following China Labor Watch's report into the working conditions at the construction site of the BYD facility in Szeged. cnbc.com/2026/04/28/byd-eu-p…

📢China Labor Watch is hiring! We're hiring a full-time Program/Operations Manager to be based in our New Jersey office (potential relocation to New York City). Click below to find out more about the position chinalaborwatch.org/get-invo…