Amazon’s Whistleblower sentenced to two years

In 2019, Tang Mingfang was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison. His crime? Calling out injustice and speaking up about labor violations in an Amazon factory in Hengyang, China.

Now, Tang wants his guilty verdict overturned. This fund is to support his legal appeal and help support Mingfang as he transitions to his life out of prison.

Tang was imprisoned for reporting cases of the factory infringing labor regulations, in particular forced labor, underage labor, and extreme disrespect for labor rights and welfare. He leaked screenshots and human resource reports from the factory that backed up these claims. Eventually, the leak was traced back to Tang and he was charged for "infringements upon trade secrets."

Tang was sentenced to two years in jail. He felt that the judges did not consider the factory's illegal proceedings. During the trial, the factory's lawyers argued that Tang's leak had hurt their business operations, with a loss of ~US$190,000 from having to raise its salaries. Tang's lawyer argued that the factory's losses resulted from correcting its illegal behavior. This meant that Tang's case should fall under the whistleblowing exemption in Chinese law, clearing his deed. But this was not the case.

During his time in prison, he was only allowed a five-minute phone call with his wife every month. He could not provide for his then 9-year old son. Tang's father also died of a stroke and he could not attend the funeral. After his release from prison, Tang's life did not get easier. He bore the guilt of potentially jeopardising the future of his family members, who many be penalized when applying for government jobs due to his criminal history. He found it difficult to look for jobs because of his criminal record. His marriage was on the rocks.

Having served time, Tang now wants his guilty verdict overturned.

He wants to "wipe away the stain" from his family. Above all, Tang wants to ensure the factory stops using forced student labor. Some lawyers have since argued that Tang should not have been charged, so Tang has turned his attention to preparing his appeal. As local lawyers have been reticent to challenge the court's decision, Tang sought the help of international human rights lawyers.

Now, the lawyers are considering making claims in the US, as well as in France and Germany, which have laws that require companies to monitor, not just respond to, human rights risks and abuses in their supply chains.

This fund is organized by China Labor Watch to help Tang fundraise for his transition out of prison and expenses related to ensuring his safety, as well as legal fees and help cover the various costs associated with his lawsuit. Under US law, proving that a multinational is liable for its overseas human rights abuses is generally an extremely lengthy and difficult process. But that is no deterrent in the pursuit of justice.

Help us help Tang fight for his rights.

For more information, please follow the links below on news articles about Tang Mingfang:

https://www.ft.com/content/de5fea12-2938-4c20-b394-10ca258a5fa1

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/30/alexa-factory-whistleblower-i-was-tortured-and-jailed-now-amazon-should-apologise

https://www.voanews.com/a/silicon-valley-technology_amazon-pledges-probe-claims-worker-abuse-china-factory/6173577.html

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