Citation

Pun N, Chan J. Mod. China 2012; 38(4): 383-410.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0097700412447164

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In 2010, a startling 18 young migrant workers attempted suicide at Foxconn Technology Group production facilities in China. This article looks into the development of the Foxconn Corporation to understand the advent of capital expansion and its impact on frontline workers' lives in China. It also provides an account of how the state facilitates Foxconn's production expansion as a form of monopoly capital. Foxconn stands out as a new phenomenon of capital expansion because of the incomparable speed and scale of its capital accumulation in all regions of China. This article explores how the workers at Foxconn, the world's largest electronics manufacturer, have been subjected to work pressure and desperation that might lead to suicides on the one hand but also open up daily and collective resistance on the other hand. © 2012 SAGE Publications.

Language: en

Keywords

student; suicide; China; migrant worker; capital formation; Chinese state; Foxconn Technology Group; global capital; monopoly; rural migrant workers; student workers