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This is even showing up in newspapers in China and on China National Radio, which is state-controlled. The state-controlled media point out that Foxconn is run from Taiwan. The city government of Huai has stepped in and send some of the students back to school.

Somebody should raise enough hell to have IPhone 5 shipments seized at US Customs while this issue is resolved. Customs can hold them up to 3 months for investigation.

"Forced" doesn't mean "I had to do it because I needed the money" in China.
From the description of the article I think this is the same thing -- the authorities rounding up people to "help" the industry.
The only difference is that when I was doing it, we were doing it for the "country". Now it is for Foxconn.

Well apparently the international attention this story is receiving has attracted the attention of Apple and the Chinese Government.
Its not clear who acted first, but it appears the Government has ordered an end to the practice of using students to to fulfil industrial orders.

According to the statement, the Huai'an government has ordered higher education institutions to strictly follow the policies and correct the violations. But students who volunteered to do internship in the factory could stay, China National Radio reported yesterday.

So now only [cough] "Volunteers" are used for this purpose.

I'm sure you meant to say that when you were a kid you were offered the opportunity to "Volunteer" in the fields, right?
I'm sure your relatives still living in the area "Volunteer" would confirm this, would they not?

This one news article from today's newspaper pretty much sums up everything you need to know about the Chinese government's relationship with its people (published in a Chinese paper BTW)

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/National/2011/05/31/County%2Bdenies%2Bthat%2Bgraft%2Bprotesters%2Bwere%2Bbeaten/

1) Corrupt local government officials stealing money
2) Use of eminent-domain that unfairly compensates those displaced
3) National government unresponsive to complaints
4) Cover up of corrupt government behavior
5) Violence used to repress those who speak out
6) Use of the press to expose the bad activity by the local government officials - but in a way that doesn't admit actual wrongdoing (this article wouldn't have appeared without some degree of approval)
7) Censoring of self-publishing (twitter-like service) by the national government

This episode is basically par for the course and occurs daily. People who keep their head down, don't complain, and avoid attention do fine. Those who can't avoid the government (because the government took their house for example), are basically roadkill. Sorry 'bout that and all....

Those of you who live in the US and think your rights are being infringed should try China sometime. No comparison.

Tey make worse than that:

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200904/20090423/article_398593.htm

It took a bit of searching, but I think your link was to the "top of the opinion page", not a permanent link. Try this link instead.

While it has "1 of 2" at the top of it, and talks about the town hall, I found no link to a second page, and the word "censorship" (appearing in your quote) does not appear in this article I read.

That link is wrong, the correct one should obviously be:

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=419750&type=National ...

'Western culture isn't immune to these effects either (cf. high-profile financial advisors committing suicide in 2008-2009), but I understand that it's significantly more of an issue in Asia.'

Most Western companies in recent years have also tended not to hire thugs to deal with suspects by kidnapping, beating, and maybe worse (at least not directly, or on home turf):

'Sun allegedly committed suicide after being detained and beaten by a man surnamed Gu, a senior official of Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group's security department, the newspaper [Southern Metropolis Daily] said, citing Sun's classmate. Sun chatted online with the classmate, who has not been identified, before his death. Sun said he was being investigated after one iPhone went missing at the company. "But I didn't steal it. I never steal anything," Sun said during the online chat. "How can you (the senior official) take me by force and beat me?"...Apple put pressure on the company after the phone went missing, the report said...[and] Foxconn began to investigate Sun. According to Sun's girlfriend, three company officials went to Sun's home to search it on July 15, but they didn't find the iPhone and left with Sun. She received a short message from Sun at 1:48am last Thursday, saying he had some trouble and asked her not to tell his family, the report said. Police said they will first determine whether Sun was murdered and then investigate Foxconn's treatment of Sun. Gu was suspended and under police investigation now, Foxconn said, which added it never allows employees to do anything against the law.'

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200907/20090721/article_408142.htm

Plenty of other news sources offer their material in English. Places like Al Jazeera, Shanghai Daily, and Indian Express are just a few examples. Being English speaking is a blessing, as it is pretty much a defacto second language for the rest of the world. If your argument was that americans only spoke spanish, and couldn't find any other news sources, I'd believe that.

I think it's obvious where they got the idea for the design of the robot. Just compare the two images, similarities are obvious:

http://file.shanghaidaily.com/News/Image//2007/2007-11/2007-11-08/20071108_337360_01.jpg

http://hubpages.com/u/49849_f260.jpg

Interestingly, private property laws are a bit vague currently in China, with the state (or its representatives) generally being able to take what it wants. This is due for a change:

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/20070 4/20070409/article_311907.htm

Don't underestimate the Chinese' understanding of IPR (article written by a senior researcher at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce). They know very well it's in the best case a two-edged sword, and that the US is asking for things they are reviewing themselves...