this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2024
68 points (95.9% liked)

Europe

8484 readers
3 users here now

News/Interesting Stories/Beautiful Pictures from Europe πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί

(Current banner: Thunder mountain, Germany, πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ ) Feel free to post submissions for banner pictures

Rules

(This list is obviously incomplete, but it will get expanded when necessary)

  1. Be nice to each other (e.g. No direct insults against each other);
  2. No racism, antisemitism, dehumanisation of minorities or glorification of National Socialism allowed;
  3. No posts linking to mis-information funded by foreign states or billionaires.

Also check out !yurop@lemm.ee

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

The suspect part had been sourced by a supplier in the VW supply chain and not by VW directly, it was claimed.

It came as Volkswagen was hit by additional claims from German media that it had benefitted from human rights abuses in China’s troubled Xinjiang region.

all 19 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Fleppensteijn@feddit.nl 38 points 8 months ago (2 children)

When it comes to chocolate, the US says it's OK to import products made from slave labor since the violations don't happen on US territory.

US doesn't grow chocolate but they do build (crappy) cars. How convenient

[–] Vegoon@feddit.de 6 points 8 months ago

It was a self report, most likely to avoid harsher consequences. Just like the diesel emissions scandal it is something that would not be persecuted in Germany the same way because the car industry owns the German government.

[–] trollercoaster@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

If they build crappy cars of their own, they have no need to import crappy cars from abroad. Indeed convenient.

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 20 points 8 months ago (2 children)

If you're a maker of something as complex as cars, and you order a lot of your parts from a country like China, good luck not having anything that benefited from forced labour.

I still can't believe the west chose, of their own volition, to destroy their own manufacturing base. What a travesty.

[–] 0x815@feddit.de -5 points 8 months ago (2 children)

@TheGrandNagus

If you're a maker of something as complex as cars, and you order a lot of your parts from a country like China, good luck not having anything that benefited from forced labour.

I still can't believe the west chose, of their own volition, to destroy their own manufacturing base. What a travesty.

If you don't understand that, feel free to go to Xinjiang and work in one if the camps there. It may help you understand.

I hope the EU will soon introduce its Supply Chain Law as planned and make the use of forced labour a crime that can be punished.

[–] ede1998@feddit.de 3 points 8 months ago

I understood his comment as the west chose to outsource a lot of manufacturing to Asia and now does not have the capability to do so locally anymore, i.e. destroyed that manufacturing capability.

[–] 0x815@feddit.de 2 points 8 months ago

I apologize to @TheGrandNegus if I got this wrong. I obviously have misinterpreted their comment.

[–] skozzii@lemmy.ca 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

VW consistently shows they have no morals in their leadership.

Never buy a VW vehicle...

[–] GregorGizeh@lemmy.zip 19 points 8 months ago (1 children)

As a german I agree on principle, but utter lack of morals is hardly noteworthy nowadays. Any kind of large corporation has only one value: profit.

[–] trollercoaster@feddit.de 2 points 8 months ago

The thing is that enslaving people is a crime in most countries. Wouldn't it be great if companies had a person responsible for their actions who could then be held responsible for crimes committed in the name or for the benefit of said company?

Unfortunately, nobody seems to be willing or able to prosecute the CEOs of big corporations.

[–] trollercoaster@feddit.de 5 points 8 months ago

Which big corporation that operates internationally has any morals?

I wouldn't buy a VW vehicle based on their decline in quality and affordability during the last few decades alone. If you don't want to buy products that contain components or materials made by Chinese, or really, any, slave labour, you'll have a hard time buying any industrial product. Of course, the usage of slave labour by corporations needs to be stopped, but as an individual, that's hardly possible, because often you don't have any choice. This problem needs concerted action by governments, ideally with personal consequences for the people responsible.

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

Agreed, but you better be ready to not buy any other vehicles. They all use parts made in China.

[–] branchial@feddit.de 0 points 8 months ago

oh no not the evil forced labour in china

I say as I eat another delicious Kit Katβ„’ chocolate bar