The article tries very hard to blame this on Apple, which seems unsubstantiated.
Taiwan-based Foxconn [...] faces cutthroat competition from other manufacturers around China and the world. A leak of the next generation of Apple’s crown jewel, the iPhone, could badly hurt Foxconn’s business relationship with Apple.
It seems this company got a little over-eager in securing its future business with Apple. There is no indication that Apple policies drove them to take harder action against this guy than they'd otherwise have.
On the other hand, Apple should put some effort into investigating if someone had his apartment illegally searched and was illegally detained in their supply-chain.
"Apple should put some effort into investigating if someone had his apartment illegally searched and was illegally detained in their supply-chain."
No they shouldn't, that's a job for the police investigating the suicide, just as Foxconn should have called the police if they suspected wrong doing on the part of their employee.
Thanks man, exactly what I was feeling. Of course Apple is not DIRECTLY responsible but in the end it is - they let produce (as everybody else within electronics) in a dictatorship with underpaid wages, low security and a rule by law where the (!rich) individual almost amounts to nothing. But in the end as cesare already pointed out it will be rationalized (everybody does it! free market! yeah!)
By that reasoning, every Apple customer is also indirectly responsible. I don't see the problem as cut and dry as manufacture in China vs. some place else. Don't you think these condition you describe would persist w/ or w/o the electronics manufacturing industry.
To some extent, yes (we want good stuff as cheap as possible) and yes of course this applies to other manufactured "off-shore" goods. By the way: I own an iphone as well... that is why this makes me even more so sad (as being part of this subsystem). Things have to change I don't have a proper solution though but I hope it will work out as time passes (e.g. people of China building an honest as possible democratic system, us ("the west") becoming less spoiled, etc.).
Taiwan-based Foxconn [...] faces cutthroat competition from other manufacturers around China and the world. A leak of the next generation of Apple’s crown jewel, the iPhone, could badly hurt Foxconn’s business relationship with Apple.
It seems this company got a little over-eager in securing its future business with Apple. There is no indication that Apple policies drove them to take harder action against this guy than they'd otherwise have.
On the other hand, Apple should put some effort into investigating if someone had his apartment illegally searched and was illegally detained in their supply-chain.