Correspondence
Message sent via contact form on Wei-Chuan's website.
The message said: "I’m contacting you in light of our latest investigation which concerns abuses in the Chinese squid fishing and seafood processing industry. We’ve discovered between a company engaged in such practices and a supplier in your supply chain - Shandong Haidu Ocean Product Co. Ltd.
Shandong Haidu is a Chishan Group company. Fishing vessels owned by the group have been observed fishing in North Korean waters in contravention of UN sanctions and fishing illegally in Indonesian waters. The group also owns at least two reefer vessels which have transshipped with dozens of fishing ships tied to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as well as human rights abuses.
Since 2021, Shandong Haidu Ocean Product Co., Ltd. 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 programs which use coercive methods in worker enrollment, and obstruct freedom to leave employment.
Does Wei-Chuan USA Inc. have any comment or statement to make in light of the above information? Please respond to this message by close of business July 18, 2023."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed two contact addresses at Wei-Chuan USA: "We sent a message to the info@ address and via the contact page on your company website on July 13 regarding our latest investigation which concerns abuses in the Chinese squid fishing and seafood processing industry, and a link we discovered between companies engaged in such practices and a supplier in your supply chain.
Trade records viewed by The Outlaw Ocean Project show that Wei-Chuan USA was the consignee for shipments of seafood from Shandong Haidu in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Shandong Haidu is a Chishan Group company. Our investigation found that fishing vessels owned by the group have been observed fishing in North Korean waters in contravention of UN sanctions and fishing illegally in Indonesian waters. The group also owns at least two reefer vessels which have transshipped with dozens of fishing ships tied to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as well as human rights abuses.
Our research also uncovered evidence that Shandong Haidu has received persons from the Xinjiang region 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.
While we recognize that you may not be aware of the above problems, we wish to ask you if Wei-Chuan has any comment or statement to make in response to this email? Can you clarify if Shandong Haidu is still a supplier to Wei-Chuan USA? Please let us know by close of business on September 27, 2023, noting that interactions remain on record."