Foxconn, a Taiwan-based company, withdrew its defamation lawsuit
against two journalists and their newspaper on Sunday, said a joint
statement released by both parties.
Foxconn Group, a global leading manufacturer of connectors and
cable assemblies, and the China Business News stated that
both sides agreed to Foxconn withdrawing the lawsuit and apologized
to each other for troubles brought to either side by the case.
The statement said Foxconn agreed to withdraw its lawsuits on
the day the statement was released.
The two sides also agreed to collaborate with each other to
protect workers' rights and contribute to building a harmonious
society, according to the statement.
The Hongfujin Precision Industry Co. in Shenzhen, a subsidiary
of Taiwan's Foxconn, that manufactures iPods for US-based Apple
Inc, sued Weng Bao and Wang You, China Business News' two
journalists, over a report published in the newspaper on June 15.
The report said most of the company's workers had to work standing
up 12 hours a day and that some fainted with fatigue.
The company filed a lawsuit against the two journalists in the
Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court on July 3, asking for 30
million yuan (US$3.75 million) in compensation from the
journalists. The court then froze the two journalists' assets,
including their homes, a car and two bank accounts.
Last Wednesday, the company slashed its defamation claim against
the journalists from 30 million yuan (US$3.75 million) to just one
yuan (13 US cents), and applied for the unfreezing of the
journalists' assets to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's
Court.
(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2006)
