PREFACE
I always assumed that history moved in a linear fashion, ever reaching toward an almost predestined horizon. But sometimes history can surprise us and double back on itself, as if pulled by some powerful, old field of gravity from which it cannot break free.
Indeed, as the Winter Olympics in Beijing drew near, I had just such a sense watching the International Olympic Committee (IOC) pull out of discussions it had been having with the Coalition to End Forced Labor in the Uyghur Region. The rights group had been pressing the IOC to assure the world that official Games merchandise was not being made with prison labor, especially from Xinjiang province where Uyghur Muslims are now being held in new versions of China’s old style “reform through labor (劳动改造)” laogai prison camps.
China’s new Xinjiang detention camps have been well-documented by investigative research and satellite imagery. For instance, scholars from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
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Brands have long relied on social auditing companies to monitor their supply chains in China. But between the industry’s own flaws and a changing political environment in China, many say these reports aren't reliable. With the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act now going into effect, this lack of trust in the industry leaves many global companies — and those hoping to hold them accountable — in a tricky spot.
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