Foxconn Suicides = Chinese push against competing firm

Candied goodies at the Matsu Temple in Dajia.

The Foxconn suicides have been in news lately. If you were suspicious that the whole thing was a media construction, the Falun Gong's Epoch Times has the report for you: they argue that it is part of the usual Chinese punishment of businesses that compete with Chinese firms in the same segment, like the attacks on Google.

In 2008, the nightmare for Foxconn began when Gou complained to Beijing authorities about its major local competitor BYD. BYD is headed by Wang Chuanfu, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress—the most powerful body of the Communist Party.

The tension between Foxconn and BYD started in 2003 when, according to Foxconn, BYD poached more than 400 key employees from Foxconn’s Nokia team. Internal company documents and information flowed to BYD with them. Foxconn also accused BYD of copying its business model.

In 2006, Terry Gou sued BYD for stealing trade secrets. BYD won the suit and countersued Foxconn for bribery and falsifying evidence, resulting in the arrest of some Foxconn employees.

During the same period, BYD captured a significant amount of businesses from Foxconn by undercutting their Taiwanese competitor. In 2008, BYD outperformed Foxconn in revenue and earnings per share. In 2009, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought 10 percent of BYD for $230 million.

Gou decided to seek help from the central government, which, according to a former high-level Foxconn manager, was Gou’s fatal mistake. “Since then,” the retired manager said, “Terry Gou has had a very hard time surviving there.”

Kao Weipang of VICA said such communications with the central government often cause danger.

“As far as I know, over the years no Taiwanese victim has ever got justice [from higher authorities],” said Kao.

Epoch is not always reliable, but this has, as one of my favorite TV characters once remarked, "just the right ring of desperation." It smells very plausible. Note that Honda in China was also the subject of a strike recently. Epoch also claims that after discussion of the alleged work environment at Foxconn, which was certainly not much different than any other firm in China:

Then suddenly, reports and discussions about Foxconn were banned from Chinese media and major websites. This happened as commentators started looking beyond Foxconn management problems toward underlying issues with the nation’s political, administrative and legal systems.

I haven't much commented on this because I was wondering what the backstory was since it was obvious from the stats that the suicides were not unusual, and the whole thing was a media blitz. Read the whole piece, it offers some other interesting information.

Oh yeah, can't wait to sign ECFA with China! Already I can hear the planes full of Cargo circling to land on our Cargo Cult runways.....
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China Post Rips Ma Administration

Anti-Ma Ying-jeou graffiti on a wooden footbridge on the trails in Ta-ken Scenic Area.

Several of the local media people have been telling me how the pro-KMT media seems to have rediscovered its role as public watchdog and improved immeasurably now that the Ma Administration is in power. Sure enough, here's the pro-KMT China Post absolutely ripping the Ma Administration on Sunday for being worse than the Chen Administration, which it famously detests (alas, no recovery of journalistic smarts will ever overcome its irrational hatred of Chen).

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[removed]

Among the most interesting and significant findings were: (1) 67 percent of the respondents to the survey complained about the lack of the administrative ability of officials, an increase of 3 percent over last year. 57 percent questioned the administrative efficiency of the government, an increase of 4 percent, which was the highest percentage revealed by similar surveys in 15 years. (2) The survey also found that with the visit to Taiwan by Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), as well as the realization of “three direct links,” 62 percent of those queried believed cross-strait relations were warming up. However, the intriguing thing was that despite the perceived improvement of cross-strait relations, 61 percent of those surveyed identified themselves as “Taiwanese,” a rise of 11 percent over that of 2006, while those who considered themselves “Chinese” decreased from 1.7 percent to 1.3 percent.

Let's examine the first point of the survey results mentioned above. It was indeed surprising to know that the administration under the leadership of Ma Ying-jeou, a politician well-known for his intelligence and integrity, was believed by the majority of locals to be less competent and less efficient than the notoriously corrupt Chen Shui-bian regime, which it had ousted in a landslide victory. There's little doubt the Ma faithful would lose no time in pointing out that the serious global economic and financial recession was the major culprit for the poor performance of the current government.

It's difficult to know how credible the surveys are here, but it is more interesting to note that the Post uses the survey simply as a starting point for a riff on how awful the current administration is. But any of us who didn't vote for Ma could have told the Post that his intelligence is overrated -- sometimes he appears to lack any political maturity whatsoever. The Liberty Times blog covered one of his usual remarks the other day...

英九救我？[Ma save me?]

... 最近馬英九又開了自殺的人一個玩笑，他建議將生命線一九九五專線號碼取諧音「英九救我」，比較容易記住。

Basically, in reference to the suicides that are occurring because of the economy, Ma made a play on words on his name, which is "9" (jeou), and the suicide hotline number, 1995, saying it was easier to remember because it is like saying "Ma save me." Ha ha. Ma says stuff like this quite often, but it never makes it into the international media, so outsiders are completely unaware of it (remember when he said during the election that the Greens were going to have him blown up with a suicide bomber?). Suicide is an especially nasty subject for Ma, since the KMT has repeatedly claimed that rising suicide rates in the Chen Administration killed more people than the KMT government during the martial law era, thus making the Chen Administration worse. The Post continued:

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However, it must be noted that in making their evaluation, the people of Taiwan must have already taken the effect of the worsening world economic situation into consideration, which was largely beyond Ma's control. In fact, many of the problems facing Ma and his team now are the results of their own making. For example, it is generally acknowledged that most of the officials are too slow to react to fast-changing domestic and international developments. For another, the serious gaffes made continuously by high-ranking officials could only decimate public confidence in the government again and again in its ability to rule the country, so much so that it may prove fatal to its credibility.

Anti-Ma Ying-jeou graffiti on a wooden footbridge on the trails in Ta-ken Scenic Area.

Indeed, it should jerk the nerves of everyone in Taiwan nowadays when high officials are obliged to make public statements, because no one knows for sure what will burst out of their big mouths. This is a weird phenomenon as most of them are old-hands in politics. It is earnestly hoped that impressive improvement will come soon when the Cabinet completes the first stage of a reshuffle by the Chinese Lunar New Year, according to news reports.

Next, let's take a close look at the cross-strait relations. Here lies the key to the success of the Ma administration in managing the nation's economy. This is so important to President Ma because it is at least something over which he can exercise certain control. In fact, the Taiwanese people have felt the welcome thaw in Taipei-Beijing ties. But, public opinion also shows that in anticipation of better relationship with the mainland, Taiwanese simultaneously harbor more and more misgivings about the possibility that their national interest may also be harmed.

In identifying themselves as “Taiwanese” rather than “Chinese,” locals intended to send a clear message to Beijing that Taiwan is a de facto state separate from the People's Republic of China (PRC), and that they are deeply concerned about premature “unification” against their will.

A forum jointly sponsored by the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has just ended with Beijing promising to help Taiwan's economy with billions of dollars. However, both the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the semi-official Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), based in Taipei, are calling for “cooling down” the issue. At the same time, scholars and experts in Taiwan caution against relying too much on the PRC.

Hence, while the Ma administration badly needs better cross-strait relationships to help alleviate Taiwan's economic woes to boost its sagging popularity, it must also take note of the deep suspicion of locals about Chinese Communist motives. If not, all the goodwill on the part of Beijing may become counterproductive, dealing a serious blow to the mainland policy of the Ma administration and casting a long shadow over the future of Taiwan.

[removed]

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Hard-hitting stuff. There's bit quite a bit of this in the pro-KMT China Times, the Chinese-language cousin of the China Post, since the Ma Administration came in. One of the effects of the local media, with its insane number of 24-7 news channels that trumpet every bit of news from the farthest reaches of the Taiwan, and its relentless focus on the silliest and most trivial local issues, is that it is constructing a Taiwan identity at a rate Chen Shui-bian could only have dreamed of. Editorials like this are the result: the Post has to remain relevant to the identities it is busy constructing.

UPDATE: One aspect of this article I should have highlighted: Ma's initial cabinet appointments are largely of mainlanders. One rumor making the rounds is that in the upcoming reshuffle, they will be replaced by a gaggle of savvy Taiwanese who got him elected. Whatever the case, articles like this lay the groundwork for acceptance of cabinet change among readers, especially foreign readers. Especially since the KMT blasted Chen Shui-bian, deservedly, for repeated cabinet reshuffles....

[Taiwan]

Suicide, Taiwan, and the KMT

ESWN offered a rare criticism of the KMT yesterday with this post on a KMT ad that was juxtaposed with a story about a shopowner who had killed his daughter and son before turning his knife on himself. ESWN translated the ad and then the words of the blogger:

[translation: Governance: Blue is better than green. In 1990, there were 2,471 suicides when the KMT ruled; in 2006, there were 4,406 suicides when the DPP ruled (new historical high).]

Previously, the KMT has a series of such advertisements about governance. In the previous three days, they focused on economic growth rate, unemployement rate and rich-poor gap. This is what the 'blue' camp is good at. The 'blue' camp want to talk about the economy whereas the 'green' camp want to talk about referenda. It makes sense for the KMT to use these statistics as their weapons.

But today's theme shocked me. The KMT brought up the number of suicides! ... The conclusion suggested by the KMT as that since the number of suicides went up during DPP rule, 'blue' must be better than 'green.'

I don't mind about wranglying between political parties, with occasional dirty tricks. These political risks are the crosses the politicians must bear. But isn't it disrespectful to the dead to invoke their deaths as political weaopns? While a frequent issue in Taiwan is the economy, did all 4,406 persons commit suicide due to the ineptitude of the DPP? Many of them were probably lovesick, or troubled by chronic illness. Should the deaths of these people be blamed on the DPP?

It's funny -- and sad -- that the blogger who "leans blue" is shocked by the behavior of a political party that killed so many people in Taiwan. What do these people expect? That murderous record is the real reason for the harping on suicide.....as I noted once before:

Why the mention of suicide? The KMT has a problem: the first two leaders, Chiang Kai-shek and his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, were out and out murderers. The Party killed tens of thousands in Taiwan, and millions on the mainland. This is a hard reputation to live down.

Nevertheless, it is trying. How? As Christian Schafferer points out in a recently given paper, during the anti-Chen campaign of last fall, the Hong Kong rag Yazhou Zhoukan ran a cover story that claimed that 16,000 had committed suicide over the years of the Chen Administration, and that this score exceeded the numbers rung up by the KMT during the White Terror years on Taiwan. The suicide claim is not an isolated claim designed to make Chen take the blame for Taiwan's complex economic problems. It is a deeper claim aimed at whitewashing the KMT for its crimes against humanity and stemming the tide of justice for just a little longer.

The advertisement also constructs reality in another way -- the date used is 1990, the peak of the Bubble economy, when Taiwan felt itself rich and invincible. It should be unnecessary to point out that statistics were routinely cooked in those days as well. The KMT also lies to its readers in another way: the economy is doing fine; it is stagnant incomes that is the problem.

I suspect, though can't prove, we're looking at another effect of globalization -- the slow introduction of the "casino economy" that is busily destroying the social fabric in the US with the development an economy in which a few people garner all the winnings at the expense of the working and middle classes. As Mark Ames convincingly demonstrates in his brilliant Going Postal, the destruction of traditional employee-company relations during the Reagan Administration led to a rise in mass slayings at places like post offices (one of the first victims of privatization) and later, factories and workplaces. In Taiwan, I suspect rising suicide rates reflect the same pressures that make Americans "go postal." As I often half-joke with my students, the difference between Americans and Taiwanese is that when Taiwanese are angry at others, they kill themselves....as the social fabric in Taiwan frays, more and more elderly are receiving less and less care. UPDATE: as a commenter notes below, as Taiwan's population ages, suicide rates rise, because the elderly are far more likely to kill themselves....

The CNA published another poll on suicide this morning, noting that:

A recent Department of Health report on suicide prevention suggested that suicide rates across Asia were on the rise.

While a ratio of 18.84 in every 100,000 people in Taiwan committed suicide last year, that figure was 25.2 in South Korea, 24.2 in Japan and 18.6 in Hong Kong, according to the report.

In addition to the economy, other factors are at work, including, surprisingly, perhaps climate. As this paper points out, suicide in Taiwan rose steadily after 1997, as this paper from 2006 points out:

Throughout the period of this study, from 1997 to 2003, the total number of suicide deaths in Taiwan was 18,083. Of the 18,083 suicide deaths, 67.6% were male and 74.7% were aged over 64 years. There were 2161 suicide deaths in 1997, 2173 in 1998, 2276 in 1999, 2463 in 2000, 2773 in 2001, 3049 in 2002, and 3188 in 2003, with their respective suicide rates of 12.8, 12.7, 13.1, 14.0, 15.6, 17.0, and 17.6 per 100,000 population. There was an upward trend in the suicide rates in Taiwan from 1997 to 2003. Across the entire study period, the monthly male suicide rates (per 100,000 of the population) ranged from a low of 1.12 in January 1999, to a high of 2.55 in May 2003, with a mean of 1.63 and a standard deviation of 0.31. The mean monthly female suicide rate was 0.81, while the respective mean rates for adults and elderly were 1.03 and 2.83.

Three-fourths of suicides are elderly. The paper finds significant associations between ambient temperature and suicide, after adjusting for seasonal fluctuations:

In our study, only a positive correlation between temperature and suicide rates was found in the ARIMA model after adjusting for trend and other seasonal factors. That is, temperature was the only climatic variable noted in the present study which had a primary influence on suicide and was not mere recurrence in line with the seasons. This finding is in accordance with previous studies conducted in European countries and Canada (Souetre et al., 1987, Preti, 1997 and Marion et al., 1999).

Maes et al. (1995) demonstrated that higher ambient temperatures predict low l-tryptophan availability among healthy volunteers. This could possibly aggravate suicidal impulses in vulnerable people. Since the influence of ambient temperature noted in this study was adjusted for trend and seasonal factors including month of the year, the deviations of monthly mean temperatures from the expected mean temperature for that time of year, rather than absolute ambient temperature, might be much more important for suicidal death as suggested by Marion et al. (1999).

Global warming leads to suicide? The authors point out it is not high temperatures per se, but deviations from expected monthly mean temps that trigger suicide. The last ten years have broken all sorts of heat records, and for many, especially the elderly whose weather expectations are formed over a lifetime, the heat must be quietly traumatic. In addition to the factories leaving for China (mid-1990s) and the Asian Econ Crisis of 1997, another bump in the suicide rates in the late 1990s was caused by the 9/21 quake. Another paper tracked the effect of the development of new methods of suicide on suicide rates in the late 1990s -- charcoal burning as suicide method was widely portrayed in the media as a painless mode of suicide. The result was a rise in suicides attributable to the introduction of new methods. Note how the trend is trans-national:

This study examined the method-specific trends of the affected populations after a new method of suicide was introduced. The data reveal that the increase in overall suicide rates of 23 and 39%, in Hong Kong and urban Taiwan respectively, after 1997 were largely attributable to the increase in charcoal burning and other gas poisoning suicides. The finding that urban Taiwan also had a substantial increase in suicides by charcoal burning and other gas poisoning confirms the view that that the problem is not limited to Hong Kong.²⁴

On one point I agree with the pro-Blue blogger ESWN found -- suicide should not be a political football. Each mention of it in the media, whether a description of a case, or a charge by the KMT, has the potential to cause more suicide. I'll leave the reader with this absolutely terrifying paragraph on copycatting and the media from the paper on charcoal burning:

Durkheim rejected imitation as having any influence on suicide rates because he believed that imitative effects have limited geographical radiance²⁸; his 19th century observations, however, may have little relevance for our "global community" of the 21st century. One ethnographic investigation in Hong Kong showed that people chose charcoal burning because they were prompted to use the method by newspaper reports²¹: the first charcoal burning suicide victim in Taiwan explicitly stated that he learned of the method from a Hong Kong newspaper website. Alarmingly, the method has recently spread to non-Chinese societies: during late 2004, there was a charcoal burning suicide pact involving seven teenagers in Japan. This sparked six more charcoal burning suicide pacts resulting in 22 deaths in two months.²⁹ Hence, charcoal burning suicides should not be viewed solely as a Chinese or local health problem. We speculate that the reason Asian countries seem to be the first to be affected by charcoal burning suicides was because of the local media’s tendency to report regional news. Nonetheless, if cases of charcoal burning suicides start to take place in other regions and are widely publicised, or when one case receives wide international media attention, charcoal burning suicide may have a great impact on the suicide rates in non-Asian populations. We are concerned that the recent wave of international reports of Japanese suicide pacts using charcoal burning may already have publicised the method in other countries. There is no reason to expect that the features associated with suicide by charcoal burning—for example, easy accessibility, no body disfigurement and high lethality, should be perceived as attractive only by the Asian populations.

[Taiwan] [KMT] [DPP] [media] [2-28] [suicide] [Chen Shui-bian]

Drowning

Foreigners in Taiwan are always amazed at the inability of Taiwanese to swim despite living on an island surrounded by water and cross-cut by numerous rivers. Swimming pools abound, too. Even more alarming is that despite an avowed inability to swim, Taiwanese often go down to the water to play, resulting in many otherwise avoidable deaths. Yesterday the Taipei Times reported that Taiwanese kids are at unusual risk of drowning:

According to numbers released by the WHO and cited by the foundation, only 0.5 out of 100,000 children up to 14 years old in Australia died while playing in water in 2001.

The figure in Taiwan, however, was 1.8 per 100,000 person, "which is three times higher than the figure in Australia," Lin Yue-chin (林月琴), executive director of the foundation, told the press conference.

Statistics released by the foundation showed that accidental death has been the No. 1 cause of death among children since 1994.

Drowning is the number 2 cause of accidental deaths here among kids, and in the world among all people. An NOAA report noted that drowning is actually underreported as a cause of death, since typical "accident" definitions exclude drowning due to catastrophes such as flooding or storms.

The Taiwan problem is global -- death rates by drowning in India, Africa, and China are much higher than in the developed world, where many people learn to swim. In the developed world marginalized and minority populations, typically poorer than the majority, also have higher death rates due to a lack of education in swimming and water safety. Taiwan is no exception in the Chinese world. According to the NOAA report above, drowning is the leading cause of injury death for children 1-14 in China.

In Taiwan, another drowning risk often overlooked is the constant presence of water in farms, including innumerable irrigation ditches, dams, culverts, and aquaculture pools. In one Australian study, farm irrigation facilities cause more than 3/4 of all drowning deaths in the 5 and under cohort.

The Foundation recommended that Taiwan put greater emphasis on education:

Education is another measure the government should take, Lin suggested.

"Our field investigation found that only 3.56 percent of schools nationwide require that their students learn to swim," Lin said.

"In addition, swimming lessons should consist of more than just letting students learn to swim. Students should be taught practical survival skills in water, especially in emergencies," Lin said.

Meanwhile, Lin emphasized that parents must also share the responsibility.

"During our field investigation, we also saw many parents allow their children to play in rivers alone, or while being monitored from a distance," Lin said.

"An emergency can occur at any moment and can take your child's life in just seconds," Lin warned.

Only 4% of students obtain swimming instruction at their schools. The Foundation also made clear that the famous Taiwanese indifference to safety is also an issue.

My first year at the university I lost two students to drowning, one by death, the other to injury. They were "playing" in shallow water outside of Taichung Harbor, apparently, and drowned in water that was deep enough to stand up and walk out of. The same thing happened to the kids who died last month in Ta-ken. Panic and inexperience will claim your life in seconds in the water. In addition to pushing them to have a plan for what to do after graduation, one of the stock speeches I give to my students is that they have to learn to swim, which should be regarded as a necessary skill, not a leisure activity. Generally I find that about half my kids are unable to swim at all, including my adult students. That's a recipe for a continuing high death rate by drowning.

[Taiwan]

Drowning

I often hack on the China Post for its completely unreliable political reporting, but once they get outside of politics they do a great job on local stuff. The other day the China Post published a list of dangerous seashores in Taiwan.

Paishawan beach on the northern coast of Taipei County was listed as one of the ten most dangerous seashores in Taiwan by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA).

Other locations on the CGA list of places where people should take precaution when escaping the summer heat include Peace Island off Keelung, Santiao Cape on the northeast coast scenic area in Taipei County, and Chishintan in Hualien County.

Kenting National Park also made the list, with CGA listing an area near the Chuanfanshi rock as a dangerous seashore, while Anping Harbor in Tainan and Chichin in Kaohsiung are some of the prominent scenic spots on the list.

I constantly tell my own students that they have to learn to swim. Swimming, I tell them, should be viewed as a necessary skill, not a leisure activity. I read several years ago that drowning is the number 2 cause of death among Taiwanese students abroad, while at home, 411 people drowned last year on Taiwan. Many of those people might have survived with a little swimming ability.

The paper also reported:

Officials are warning people to take heed of warning signs along the coast or rivers and lakes in the inland area in pursuing swimming or other water activities during the summer.

Yesterday, a high school student drowned near a waterfall in the Taiping scenic area in Taichung County after jumping from a 10-meter high cliff.

Police had to maneuver through steep cliffs along a river to recover the body of the student

My friend Jason, on a visit from the US, and Andrew Kerslake (more on them later) were out at the waterfall yesterday and sent me these pictures:

Here Andrew looks down over the falls. Meanwhile the two of them stumbled upon a disturbing sight:

A hastily abandoned picnic site, with food still sitting halfway done on the BBQ. This appears to be the picnic of the drowning victim. Note the beer cans. Alcohol and water do not mix.

[Taiwan]

Chen, Suicide, and 2-28

Ma Ying-jeou, indicted embezzler and alleged student spy, said something quite interesting yesterday while attacking President Chen:

While urging the government to focus its efforts on taking care of public livelihood, Ma promised to work on improving the domestic economy and to push for social harmony if elected as president.

"More than 23,00 people commit suicide every year, but the government only cares about tearing down the walls surrounding CKS hall," Ma said while attending a ceremony to celebrate the founding of his group of supporters in Jhonghe City (中和).

As the group vowed to spare no effort in helping Ma win the elections next year, Ma, who declared his candidacy early last month, pledged to demonstrate his determination in pursuing the presidency and seeking a solution to the nation's plight.

Why the mention of suicide? The actual figure, around 4,800, is not really the issue. The claim that Chen's mismanagement of the economy and society has incited Taiwanese to kill themselves is actually a standard KMT propaganda claim. The KMT has a problem: the first two leaders, Chiang Kai-shek and his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, were out and out murderers. The Party killed tens of thousands in Taiwan, and millions on the mainland. This is a hard reputation to live down.

Nevertheless, it is trying. How? As Christian Schafferer points out in a recently given paper, during the anti-Chen campaign of last fall, the Hong Kong rag Yazhou Zhoukan ran a cover story that claimed that 16,000 had committed suicide over the years of the Chen Administration, and that this score exceeded the numbers rung up by the KMT during the White Terror years on Taiwan. The suicide claim is not an isolated claim designed to make Chen take the blame for Taiwan's complex economic problems. It is a deeper claim aimed at whitewashing the KMT for its crimes against humanity and stemming the tide of justice for just a little longer.

[Taiwan] [KMT] [DPP] [Hong Kong] [2-28] [suicide] [Chen Shui-bian]