A Taiwan-funded company has slashed its defamation claim against
two Shanghai journalists from 30 million yuan (US$3.75 million) to
just one yuan (13 US cents).
An official with Hongfujin Precision Industry Co, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Taiwan's Foxconn that manufactures iPods for the
US-based Apple Inc, told Xinhua over the telephone that the company
would be applying to the Shenzhen Intermediate Court for an order
to release the journalists' assets, which include their homes, bank
accounts and a car.
The official also said the company would add China Business
News, the publication that the two journalists work for, to the
list of defendants.
Weng Bao, one of the journalist defendants, confirmed the news.
"This is victory for the Chinese media," he said.
The company filed a defamation suit against Weng and his
colleague Wang You over a report that described Hongfujin as a
sweatshop, alleging among other things that it made its employees
work standing up for up to 12 hours a day.
The decision followed several days of public debate during which
the two journalists set up their own web blogs to air their
grievances. Nearly two million people had visited the blogs by the
mid-day Wednesday, most voicing their support for the
journalists.
An online poll of 43,250 people launched by www.sina.com.cn
showed that 48.1 percent of respondents believed that Hongfujin
would lose the case, 41.22 percent argued that the company and
journalists would reach an agreement, 5.81 believed the company
would win and the remaining 4.87 were undecided.
The survey also showed that 83.22 percent of the respondents
believed the two journalists did not damage the reputation of the
company.
However, a reader who referred to himself as Fanhui (SHOULDN'T
THIS BE FAN DUI?), meaning "objection" in Chinese, said: "The news
report is a little bit sensational. They should investigate the
case thoroughly."
Apple Computer said on Wednesday it was trying to settle a
dispute over alleged labor abuses at its iPod factory in China, an
awkward case highlighting the challenges big companies face in
living up to their codes of conduct while outsourcing most of their
production, according to an Associated Press report.
The case also reflects the pressures Chinese journalists face
when trying to do their jobs.
(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2006)