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By Star Chang, posted May 30, 2010 at 12:10 PM, 1,558 views,

( Note: This is only a profile picture from Apple Daily, not the real scene )

A fire broke out yesterday at a building inside Foxconn, the fire was discovered at around 6pm, the location is one of the computer assembly plant. Reporters waiting outside the plant saw several fire engines entering into the complex and were later told by a security guard that a fire had broken out, but all press were barred from entering. At the meantime, there is no official confirmation, and it is not possible to contact a spokesperson from Foxconn. There were rumors about a dozen workers had been injured, but they were treated inside the plant instead of bringing them to the hospital. The reason for this is because the company does not want anymore negative reports from the media.

According to Hong Kong media report, the fire broke out at one of the main computer assembly plant, which produces Apple computer, mobile phones, manufacture of industrial robots, and mold for electronic products. The cause of the fire is unknown, and it was extinguished in half an hour with the help of heavy rain at the time. When other workers noticed about the incident, they were worried they can’t escape in time, because most of the windows have protecting fence now to prevent suicide jumps.

The fire broke out news has not been reported by any Chinese media. They were requested by the government and authorities to stay low profile on Foxconn’s news. Only several micro-blogs have postings on this. In the meantime, only press from Hong Kong and Taiwan are waiting outside the factory, to wait for the latest news.

Video – Live report from Taiwan CTiTV news

Highlights:

the incident happened on Friday night (May 28th).

fire truck and ambulance driving into Foxconn’s complex, the atmosphere became tense.

the witness described that they couldn’t see how big is the fire, but only see heavy smoke appearing from one of the factory buildings.

it seems that the fire broke out was not considered as large-scale.

suspect the cause of the fire to be some oil containers and machines.

no official statement from Foxconn yet, number of injured is unknown.

So the major news media from China is not reporting Foxconn issue anymore, no matter there is a fire broke out or more suicides take place. This is the well-known censorship system from China, they always show social harmony and stability to the public. Has Foxconn become more evil after all these suicide tragedies? If Foxconn needs to show their social responsibility, they have to know what is called ‘freedom of the press’.

Source: SCMP (Registration needed) , Hong Kong Apple Daily (Subscription needed)
* editor note: screen capture on SCMP’s report, Apple Daily report alternative link *