China’s Workers Risk Limbs in Export Drive

In recent years, China has become the “world’s factory” for labor-intensive goods. However, the factories producing these goods often lack safe machinery or appropriate oversight. As a result, accidents that result in a lost limb or a life have increased, especially among the migrant laborers who work at these factories. Even though statutory laws are in place governing safety and compensation for accidents, these laws are not often enforced. But in China’s capitalist expansion, “high rates of injury and death are tolerated as the price of economic progress.” - YaleGlobal