“China Is Using Uighur Labor to Produce Face Masks”, 19 July 2020

… A New York Times visual investigation has found that [Chinese] companies are using Uighur labor through a contentious government-sponsored program that experts say often puts people to work against their will.

… The program sends Uighurs and other ethnic minorities into factory and service jobs. Now, their labor is part of the P.P.E. supply chain … After reviewing state media reports and public records, The Times found that at least 17 of [51] … companies participate in the labor transfer program.

The companies produce equipment primarily for domestic use, but The Times identified several other companies outside Xinjiang that use Uighur labor and export globally … The workers are required to learn Mandarin and pledge their loyalty to China at weekly flag-raising ceremonies.

Uighurs have long been persecuted by the Chinese government … In a response to The Times, the spokesman for China’s Embassy in the U.S. said the program helps “local residents rise above poverty through employment and lead fulfilling lives.”

Quotas on the number of workers put into the labor program and the penalties faced by those who refuse to cooperate, however, mean that participation is often, in effect, involuntary.