On May 25, 2010, Hong Kong NGO Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) staged a protest in Hong Kong to urge Taiwan-owned electronics giant Foxconn to improve working conditions in its plants.

SACOM led about 30 people to the headquarters of Foxconn in Cheung Sha Wan. The protest follows a series of suicides of young workers at Foxconn plants in Shenzhen.

Since the beginning of the year, nine Foxconn employees have committed suicide - the latest on Tuesday morning. Two other employees have attempted suicide during the same period.

Debby Chan from the SACOM told China.org.cn, "In such a short period, so many people have killed themselves. Yet Foxconn says the suicides are unrelated cases. They have not shown any sincere motivation to solve the problem."

"We urge Foxconn to talk to its employees and set up a special panel to probe the matter," she said.

SACOM also said the company should raise workers' salaries and ensure workers' rights are protected. It hopes its protest against Foxconn, the world's largest electronics manufacturer, will send a message to the entire Chinese electronics industry to improve working conditions.

The protesters managed to gain access to the Foxconn offices, but no company representatives were willing to talk to them.

Chan said SACOM had sent a team to Foxconn's Longhua plant in Shenzhen from May 20 to 22, to investigate working conditions. They claim workers are under enormous pressure, have little time to socialize with each other and few opportunities for emotional relief.

Foxconn's employees work an average 12-hour day. Their basic salary is 900 yuan (US$132) per month. With overtime their monthly income can reach about 2,000 yuan (US$293).

At a forum held in Taipei on May 24, Foxconn boss Terry Gou denied his company is a sweatshop. "The outsiders do not necessarily know the truth. We need action not words to find a solution for this matter," he said.

After the sixth suicide on May 11, Gou invited Buddhist monks from Wutai Mountain to carry out religious rituals to purify its Shenzhen plants.

The company is also hiring counselors. At a job fair on May 22, it posted advertisements for psychological consultants offering an annual salary package ranging from 200,000 yuan (US$29,280) to 600,000 yuan (US$87,839).

Headquartered in Taiwan, Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer. It employs about 800,000 workers on the Chinese mainland, over 420,000 in Shenzhen. It manufactures electronics products such as smart phones, LCD televisions and cameras under contract for major brands such as Apple, Sony, Dell and Nokia.