VOLKSWAGEN EXITS XINJIANG AFTER CRITICISM ABOUT COMPLICITY IN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

On Wednesday, German auto manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) announced that it would sell its operations in Xinjiang. The move comes after years of pressure from rights groups that have documented the Chinese government’s grave abuses—including forced labor—against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in the region, and the attendant complicity of Western corporations that operate there. However, based on the company’s statements, economics rather than human rights may have been the primary motivation for its recent decision-making.

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