Editor’s Note: In Chinese culture, people typically list their family name first, followed by their given name. On second-references to Chinese people quoted in this story, Wisconsin Watch is using their family name.
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Lee Ming-che addresses an audience at an event held by human rights groups in Taiwan, on Dec. 10, 2022. Lee, a Taiwanese college administrator, was convicted in China of “subverting state power” in 2017 and released in 2022. He says he was forced to make Milwaukee Tool glove models under grueling conditions while incarcerated at Chishan Prison in China’s central Hunan Province. (Courtesy of Lee Ming-che)
The Milwaukee Tool global headquarters are seen at 13135 West Lisbon Road, Brookfield, Wis., on March 9, 2023. A spokesperson says the company “found no evidence to support” allegations that subcontractors have used forced prison labor in China to produce several types of Milwaukee Tool-branded gloves. (Jim Malewitz / Wisconsin Watch)
Chinese exile Shi Minglei, who now lives in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, is shown with her husband Cheng Yuan around Christmas of 2018. The photo was taken about six before authorities in China arrested Cheng on subversion charges while he was running a Chinese organization that advocated for victims of discrimination. Cheng is still in prison, and Shi says he has been forced to make products under grueling conditions. (Courtesy of Shi Minglei)
The label on a pair of Milwaukee Tool “Performance” gloves is seen at a Home Depot in Madison, Wis., on Feb. 5, 2023. It reads “Professionally Made in China.” Two men say they were forced to make “Demolition” gloves and other Milwaukee Tool glove models under grueling conditions while incarcerated at Chishan Prison in China’s central Hunan Province. (Zhen Wang / Wisconsin Watch)
The Milwaukee Tool global headquarters are seen at 13135 West Lisbon Road, Brookfield, Wis., on March 9, 2023. Regulatory filings show Shanghai Select Safety Products was contracted to manufacture “Performance” gloves for a subsidiary of Milwaukee Tool’s parent company. Two former Chishan prisoners separately identified Shanghai Select Safety Products as a Milwaukee Tool supplier that outsourced work to their prison, where they were forced to produce gloves for the equivalent of pennies each day. (Jim Malewitz / Wisconsin Watch)
Milwaukee Tool “Demolition” gloves are seen at a Home Depot in Madison, Wis., on Feb. 5, 2023. Two men say they were forced to make “Demolition” gloves and other Milwaukee Tool glove models under grueling conditions while incarcerated at Chishan Prison in China’s central Hunan Province. (Zhen Wang / Wisconsin Watch)
Chishan Prison houses around 2,900 prisoners in a compound that includes 11 manufacturing spaces where prisoners are forced to work. “The whole prison is mainly divided into two separate areas of manufacturing and living area for prisoners,” says Lee Ming-che, who was convicted in China of “subverting state power” in 2017 and released last April. Lee told Wisconsin Watch the purple border denotes the living area for prisoners while the yellow border shows the manufacturing area of the prison. The colored borders were added by Wisconsin Watch. (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies)
Lee Ming-che addresses an audience at an event held by Amnesty International Taiwan, in Taipei, on Dec. 3, 2022. Lee, a Taiwanese college administrator, was convicted in China of “subverting state power” in 2017 and released in 2022. He says he was forced to make Milwaukee Tool glove models under grueling conditions while incarcerated at Chishan Prison in China’s central Hunan Province. (Courtesy of Lee Ming-che)
Photos: Train derailment in Wisconsin
BNSF train derailment
BNSF train derailment aerial view
A BNSF Railway freight train derailed Thursday along the Mississippi River between De Soto and Ferryville. Several cars plunged into the swollen river.
BNSF Railway train derailment
Contents of a derailed BNSF Railway freight train include oxygen, lithium batteries and paint. Emergency officials said there is no public safety concern as of now, and the lithium batteries are contained and not in water.
BNSF Railway train derailment
Two locomotives and an unknown number of train cars derailed along the Mississippi River on Thursday around noon. Emergency crews responded to the scene quickly and four crew members were transported to a hospital for medical evaluations.
