Correspondence
Email sent to the contact address for Rongcheng Runtong.
The email said: "I’m contacting you in light of our latest investigation which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry. Rongcheng Runtong Aquatic Co. Ltd. is a Chishan Group company. The Chishan Group has received persons from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China under a state-imposed labor transfer program, since 2021 and as recently as May 2023.
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 programs which use coercive methods in worker enrollment and obstruct freedom to leave employment. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor. Rongcheng Runtong Aquatic Co. Ltd.’s international customers include companies in the U.S., where the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor is prohibited.
Can Rongcheng Runtong confirm or deny if any Uyghurs were employed to work at the plant at any time over the past five years? Does Rongcheng Runtong have any comment or statement to make in response to the above information? Please respond to this email by close of business September 7, 2023, and note that all interactions are fully on record."