TPM: Jarryd Jaeger: 'In order to compete with other countries, China has ramped up production in the western province of Xinjiang, home to the nation's Uyghur Muslim minority. As the Times reports, companies such as Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal Industry Group have partnered with the Chinese government to move hundreds of Uyghurs from the south to the industrialized north where they are put to work in mines, smelters, and factories producing lithium, nickel, manganese, beryllium, copper and gold.
'While such companies deny that their workers are mistreated, reports show that Uyghurs are subject to what could easily be deemed to be forced labor.'