Hundreds of workers work at Apple Inc.’s main factory. iPhone manufacturers in China clashed with security personnel as tensions escalated after nearly a month of tight restrictions aimed at curbing the Covid epidemic. Workers at the Foxconn Technology Group factory rushed out of their dormitories early Wednesday morning and shoved white-clad security guards, which they outnumbered, according to video that witnesses sent to part of the protest.

In another clip, several people in white suits beat a person lying on the ground with sticks. The audience shouted: “Fight, fight!” as the crowds cross the barricades. At one point, several people surrounded an occupied police car and began to shake the car, shouting inconsistently. echoes. He added that several workers were injured and police arrived on the scene on Wednesday to restore order.

In one video, angry workers surrounded a quiet, depressed executive in a conference room to voice their grievances and question Covid test results. It is not known when the meeting took place.

“This place scares me so much, now we can all be Covid positive,” said a male worker. “You are sending us to die,” said another man. A Foxconn representative declined to comment on the incident.

Rare incidents of violence at a factory in the center of Zhengzhou city point to escalating tensions since the quarantine began in October. Many of iPhone City’s more than 200,000 employees have been forced into self-isolation, eating plain meals and taking medication.

Many people fled the factory on foot last month. In recent weeks, Foxconn and local authorities seem to have taken control of the situation, promising exorbitantly higher wages and better working conditions to attract new workers. Protests early Wednesday show that this is no longer the case. He highlights how Xi Jinping’s Covid Zero policy, which relies on rapid lockdown measures to eradicate the disease wherever it arises, is increasingly straining the economy and throwing the global supply chain into turmoil. Beijing recently issued new guidelines ordering authorities to minimize disruptions and use more targeted Covid controls, but sharp outbreaks in major cities prompted local authorities to re-impose strict restrictions.

“It’s really a mess,” said Barry Naughton, a professor of Chinese economics at the University of California, San Diego. “They’ve created a situation where local decision makers are under unbearable pressure.” Source