According to reports on social media, there have been protests and riots around the world’s largest iPhone factory due to the strict corona measures in China. As was seen in videos shared on Wednesday, hundreds of workers at Apple supplier Foxconn marched down a street in the eastern Chinese metropolis of Zhengzhou.
A large contingent of security forces with batons and plastic shields could be seen trying to push people back. There were clashes. You could also see how some workers were lying on the ground, apparently injured.
The Taiwanese company Foxconn could not immediately be reached for comment.
There was unrest a few weeks ago
A few weeks ago, unrest broke out around the Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou, where around 200,000 people work. Thousands of employees had fled for fear of infection or the strict measures. Foxconn then offered employees higher wages if they chose to return despite the restrictions. However, the plant continued to operate in a so-called “closed circuit”. Employees were not allowed to leave the factory premises.
Last week there were also protests against the government’s corona measures in the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou. Angry migrant workers tore down numerous barricades there.
While the rest of the world tries to live with the virus, China continues to pursue a strict zero-Covid strategy with lockdowns, mass daily testing, strict controls, contact tracing and forced quarantine. Nevertheless, the number of new infections has increased sharply again, especially in the past few weeks.
