Foxconn is representative of China as a whole

The European launch of the iPad has put the poor conditions under which employees at the Taiwanese producer of Apple products work in the limelight. In the eyes of online business paper Taloussanomat the working conditions at Foxconn's facilities in mainland China are typical of those all over the People's Republic: "With almost a million workers Foxconn is seen as a company with a tough grip. It is also seen as a mini replica of Chinese industry. So the criticism of the working conditions at the company is directed against China as a whole. Most people in China have hard lives. With its 1.3 billion inhabitants the competition is tougher then elsewhere on the global market. The pressure at school and in the job world is huge. The extreme rivalry between companies is often reflected in the poor quality of their products and the fact that the rights of workers are trampled underfoot and the salaries are low."

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