You need to be very careful about putting US standards and judging currency rates to foreign countries. For example, Blake said the employees were paid $500/month. If this was the US, I would agree, very close to slave labor, but this isn't the US. There is a thing called Purchasing Power Parity. Based on the PPP value of the yuan vs the dollar (for most industrialized areas in China) that $500US has the purchasing power of about $3800/month. Not great, but far more than the average Chinese employee and far in what would be considered 'middle class'.
Agreed...But he didn’t say 500 dollars, American...I assume it was in the Chinese currency...