2,000 workers at Foxconn’s Taiyuan plant “which processed the back casing of the iPhone 5” have started a riot in the wee hours in China, and that police forces are on site to control the crowd. An unofficial report is claiming the “2,000-people” riot was triggered by security guards hitting a worker at 10pm local time. However, Foxconn has told Reuters that there was “a fight among workers from different production lines,” but the company’s spokesperson said they’re “still investigating the cause of the fight and the number of people involved.” The Next Web reports that roughly 40 individuals were taken to the hospital, but that there were no deaths. More after the break. » Foxconn China Plant Closed After 2,000 Riot
Three readers of 9to5mac reported that their iPhone 5s have shipped from the ZhengZhou region of inland China via UPS – likely from the nearby Taiyuan Foxconn factory (pictured above) in Shanxi Province. If you would like to find out if your iPhone 5 has already been shipped “Simply fill out the track by reference form on UPS, and use your phone number associated with your Apple ID for the reference number. If that phone number does not work, keep trying any phone number that could be associated with your wireless account or the number you used to upgrade. ” Note that this only works for orders from Apple.com. » Apple Begins To Ship iPhone 5 Via UPS From ZhengZhou Region Of China
Apple just released a press release confirming the new iPad will launch in China on July 20. “With roughly 1.33 billion people, China is one of Apple’s biggest markets left out of the first wave of international rollouts”. The full press release can be found after the break. » Apple Announces New iPad Coming To China On July 20
Marketplace Shanghai Bureau Chief Rob Schmitz is only the second reporter ever to gain access to visit the factory floor at Apple’s Chinese producer Foxconn. See highlights from his tour of the assembly line and the Foxconn facilities. Hear his full audio reports on your local public radio station or online at marketplace.org.
The reporter Rob Schmitz gain exclusive access to the Foxconn iPad factory in China, and is only the second journalist to do so. “On the heels of his report about Mike Daisey’s largely fabricated This American Life story, our China correspondent, Rob Schmitz is back with a new exclusive. Rob recently gained access to the Foxconn factory floor in Shenzhen, China, making him the first public media reporter (and only the second journalist) Apple has ever allowed into its Chinese supplier. Hear his exclusive reports on your local public radio station (week of April 9, 2012) or online anytime at marketplace.org.” Take a look after the break where you can find a 3:30 minute “audio” interview about Rob’s tour in the China Foxconn factory. » Journalist Rob Schmitz Gets A Foxconn Factory Tour
Accoring to M.I.C Gadget Apple has started putting posters of its upcoming China flagship store in a shopping center called Parkland Mall at Dalian, a rich Chinese city with a lot of investment coming from Korea and Japan. However, due to competition in shopping centres, another shopping center called Dalian Department Store is jealous of Parkland Mall for having an Apple Store. “The video below shows the security guards from the Dalian Department Store destroying the barricades after negotiations were unsuccessful.” » Worlds Biggest Apple Store Coming To Dalian, China
Earlier Apple already announced that the winner of its 25 billion app countdown contest was Fu Chunli (see above), a resident of Qingdao, China who downloaded “Disney Where’s My Water? Free” and won a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card. M.I.C. Gadget reported that she had only been an iPhone user for a month at the time of milestone and had been unaware of the contest until she was contacted by Apple.
Fu Chunli was not a big fan of Apple, and had only purchased her iPhone for about one month, still learning how to use the App Store. She didn’t know anything about the competition until she was contacted by Apple. When she received a call from staff at Apple (China), she thought it was a hoax. She was still confused when a friend told her that she received a prize from Apple, but did not believe her luck until she saw an email from Apple Inc.
Chris Eissens
