[Zhang Fei]

I don't think the Foxconn suicides are indicative of much of anything. In 2007, 287k Chinese offed themselves out of a total population of 1.2b people. This means the annual Chinese suicide rate is 1.2b/287k or roughly 1 suicide per 4k people. Foxconn employs 300k Chinese. A dozen suicides a year translates to 300k/12 or roughly 1 suicide per 25k people, which is far below the overall Chinese suicide rate of 1 suicide per 4k people.

In 2005, the US suicide rate was 11.1 out of 100k or 1 out of every 9k people. That is still higher than Foxconn's suicide rate of 1 out of every 25k people. Bottom line, I think the news coverage is way overblown and completely out of context.

[hedgetrimmer]

Of course! The article is about ‘capitalists’ using communist dictators to create the perfect workforce. One that is servile and subservient and exists on a pittance of a salary, with no home life or any of the things that are good for the human spirit.

He asks, why do ‘free people’ ( what Americans used to be) sing the praises of communist china to the Congress, who in turn pass legislation that encourages more investment in communism?