Correspondence
Email sent to Ben Lin, President of Bestar America.
The email said: "I’m contacting you in light of our latest investigation which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s food processing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between a company engaged in such practices and your supply chain.
Your supplier Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Products has received persons from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China under the state-imposed labor transfer program. The United Nations, human rights organizations and academic experts agree that since 2018, the Chinese government has systematically subjected Xinjiang’s predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities to forced labor across the country via state-sanctioned employment schemes which use coercive methods in worker enrollment. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor.
Does Bestar America Inc. have any comment or statement to make in light of the above information? Please respond to this email by close of business May 29, 2023."
Ben Lin of Bestar America replied by email to say: "So far as I know, none of the workshops at Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Products where they process frozen seafood products for us has workers from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. These workshops are audited annually by our customers in USA and EU, as well as by third-party agencies."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "We have found evidence of Uyghurs laborers deployed to Qingdao Tianyuan facilities processing white fish, including what appears to be the same species purchased by Bestar America Inc., as recently as May 2023. Have you raised any questions or concerns about this issue with Qingdao Tianyuan directly? Please reply to this email by close of business June 23, 2023."
Bestar replied, saying: "I raised the question with Qingdao Tianyuan directly late last week, I got a reconfirmation that none of their workshops where they process seafood products for us has workers from Xinjiang Uyghur. On the other hand, SGS inspects products on-site in the workshops regularly for years, while Qingdao Tianyuan pack these for us, they never brought up such an issue to our attention."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thank you very much for your reply and the additional information. Our investigation has found that audits conducted by SGS and others are failing to detect Uyghurs at various facilities. SGS has previously failed to identify Uyghur forced labor in its audits, such as in a March 2019 BSCI audit of Hetian Taida Apparel Co. Ltd., a factory subsequently targeted in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention order. Can Bestar America share a copy of a sample Qingdao Tianyuan audit report?"