Intel apologized to China customers over its Xinjang labour stance as backlash intensified. The chip maker sent a letter asking suppliers not to use any labour or products sourced from Xinjang in order to ensure compliance with U.S legal requirements according to the statement issued on wechat on Thursday.
Last night Joe Biden, the U.S president signed a bill into law that bans all products made in Xinjang region of China citing allegation of forced labour and human rights abuses unless companies proved that the products were not manufactured using forced labour.
So citing the law which went into force, Intel decided to issue a letter asking all its suppliers to not source products or labour from the Xinjang region over alleged abuse of Uyghur minorities only to face backlash from China which is the biggest market for the chip maker.
Intel on Thursday said in a statement that they ” deeply regret” that their letter has caused concerns among our cherished Chinese partners. ” we apologise for the trouble caused to our rspected Chinese customers, partners and the public”, the company said.
The apology from a major U.S leading chip maker company came after facing fury from Chinese state media and foreign ministry.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian urged Intel to ” respect facts and tell the right from wrong” because ” the so-called forced lebour and other allegations on Xingiang are complete lies concocted by anti-China forces”.
The state run outlet, The Global Times slammed Intel saying that it was biting the hand that feeds it and described the letter as ” arrogant and Vicious”.
” What we need to do is to make it increasely expensive for companies to offend China so that their losses outweigh their gains” the news paper said in an editorial.
It was these statements from foreign ministry, The Global Times and the announcement of pop singer Wang Junkai that he was withdrawning from his role as ” brand ambassador ” for Intel’s core line of processor chips following public outrage that broke Intel into apologising.
The pop singer Wang Junkai said ” national interests exceed everything”, the statement which recieved praise from The Global Times news paper which called the Chinese singer’s move a ” fresh warning siren to Intel and other foreign companies that seek to undermine China’s core interests while also trying to profit from the vast market”.
Intel is not the first foreign company in China to face backlash over such unreasonable statement about the use of forced labour in Xingiang region of China because other brands like H&M and Nike faced similar backlash and boycott calls and criticism in the past for issuing the same letters banning the use of materials produced by in the region citing forced labour.
China has been calling forced labour allegations from western countries especially the U.S., Australia, UK and Canada complete lies concocted by anti-China forces.
The world has been asking for proof about forced labour but its yet to recieve one from U.S and its allies like UK.Australia and Canada who also announced recently the boycott of up coming Beijing winter Olympics citing human rights abuses by China.
One of the most surprising thing is that all muslim countries have not come out to criticise China about forced labour allegations in Xinjiang which most of their leaders have visited many times leaving people asking how come all of sudden the U.S has started caring about muslims in China after not only attacking, bombing, killing, destorying many muslim countries of Iraq, Libya, Afghnistan and Syria, supported a war in Yemen which has killed thousands of people and caused the worst humanitarian crisis the world has ever seen not forgeting that former president of U.S banned muslims from entering U.S.
