The Apple Factory Story

   Hi, everyone, since I talk about the Apple Factory Workers’ Suicide Incident in ENG101 class. I would like to share something more with you guys. Firstly, I want to share a short story with you. It’s not a real story, but maybe from this story, you can know the apple workers’ situation in China.

   Life of a country girl in China

    Lin came form Hunan province in China, recently she got a job in Foxconn company in Shenzhen, which is one of the biggest multinational electronics contract manufacturing company in mainland China. She and her family were very happy for this, because that mean she could get labor insurance, clean and beautiful uniform, and live in Foxconn’s beautiful worker dormitory.

Compare with the small electronic component manufacturing factory she used to work in, the beautiful , huge Foxconn is like a heaven. The reason why lin wanted to go Foxconn is because she can work as long as she want in the producing department. The workers get paid hourly in Foxconn, so if they want, they can work over 16 hours a day. As a new comer, Lin worked really hard in Foxconn, she gave up all of her off days, so that she can earn more money. She thought, if she could earn more money, her family could build a new house in their village, so that her brother can get marry.  She and her family knew that today in China, if a marry-age man doesn’t have anything, especially a house or an apartment, he could never get marry. No one will marry him. That’s why she can her parents went to Guangdong, one of the most developed provinces in China to be farmer-workers.

However, living in a big city like Shenzhen for Lin is tough. She had never been to those fancy malls, she didn’t know what it is in there. She hear some colleagues talk about those beautiful places all the time, but she thought she could never go there, because she didn’t have time, besides, she didn’t have money either. Recently Lin’s mom was so anxious, Lin’s brother has been 25 now, every girl he dated left him after seeing their poor little home. Lin’s mom cried every time when she called Lin. Lin felt really depressing, she thought, being poor isn’t her fault, why she have to take the blame? She felt so exhausted and despaired. Hearing her mother’s cry, she thought her life or their life is hopeless, she needed to find a way out.

   Last month, one of her colleague suicide in their dorm, jumped form the top of the dormitory building, the worker’s family got 300,000 RMB, almost equal 50,000 U.S. dollars as reparation. Lin thought, maybe the best way to solve all of her and family’s problems is killing like that colleague. After the pressure and despair in these days , she finally gave up struggling and jumped from the top of her dorm building.

   Lin’s story is not real, but the similar stories happen in China everyday. In the next blog I’ll continue to talk about social ressesstiment in China.