June 13, 2010
Written by "Benla Kuang"
Translated by Lydia Ma

After a string of employee suicides at Foxconn stunned the world, Christians began a prayer chain to intercede for all Foxconn employees. Some Christians also visited Foxconn employee dormitories to distribute gospel tracts, share testimonies, and sing songs.

Foxconn leaders invited Changhua Christian Hospital and Mackay Memorial Hospital physicians and chaplains to visit its Shenzhen factory in China to conduct counseling and share the gospel. According to one report, Foxconn's Chairman Terry Guo was moved to tears after hearing the chaplains' sermons and said afterward that he'd found hope and deliverance.

We cannot emphasize enough on the importance of Christians praying and sharing the gospel with Foxconn executives and employees and offering professional counseling. But Christians shouldn't stop there – otherwise, what would distinguish us from any other psychologist that Terry Guo would've hired?

The real issue here isn't about helping abused and oppressed people to handle pressure better; rather, it's about mourning with those who mourn and shedding light on unacceptable company policies that have oppressed employees to the breaking point and correcting these policies.

Pressure might not have been the only factor pushing Foxconn employees to jump from buildings, for they could've chosen to simply resign from their jobs. Factors such as living in a cut-throat society and demands from greedy, capitalist countries seeking to cut production costs may have also played a part in pushing employees over the edge. Some people have cited Foxconn's Spartan management and unreasonable work shifts as factors because these have prevented employees from having any kind of family life and social life.

So, what can Christians do if they ever get a chance to meet high-profile CEOs like Terry Guo? We must keep reminding these people of influence that building gyms or pools or hiring psychologists aren't enough if they don't simultaneously deal with unjust labor laws and military-style management. We must warn them against solely seeking profit-maximization.

What if you are a high-profile CEO? Then, besides offering reasonable working conditions you must also focus on your company's responsibilities toward society, including being aware of whether your contractors or subsidiaries are abusing their employees by turning their plants into sweat shops and oppressing their workers to keep costs down.

A company's positive social influence above and beyond its prestige and image is often understated. As a Christian entrepreneur, caring about one's own company's social responsibility isn't only good Christian witness, but also part of the job description. That is probably why some labor groups have called on Cher Wang, Chairwoman of HTC Corporation, to assist in mediating a labor dispute involving abuse between one of HTC's suppliers and employees of that supplier.

Considering that most of us may never have a heart-to-heart with a prominent CEO, much less become a CEO ourselves, is there anything we can do beside prayer? As workers, we can stay informed about our basic labor rights and keep an eye on whether there are cases of abuse in our workplace. If we see injustices, we must wisely draw attention to them for it's the least we can do.

Support oppressed people, mourn with those who mourn, help to solve labor disputes, and alleviate pressure are only a few examples of things we can do in our limited capacities. In the face of oppression, it seems we can do much more besides prayer.

Taiwan Church News