Recently, an audit report from a joint factory in Xinjiang owned by Volkswagen leaked, raising allegations that the automaker’s claims in the report are misleading or false.
These claims include auditing compliance with the SA8000 international standard, adherence to International Labour Organization standards, and being conducted by a company with social audit experience.
On Thursday, prominent German scholar Adrian Zenz, sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party, stated on the social media platform X that “the audit was conducted by the Guangdong Liangma Law Firm, which is a Chinese law firm with significant connections to the CCP. Guangdong Liangma Law Firm lacks clear social audit experience and has not promoted related services. It has not been certified to conduct SA8000 audits.”
The SA8000 standard is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Labour Organization conventions, international human rights norms, and national labor laws. This standard is the first social responsibility certification standard developed for factories and organizations worldwide.
The Washington-based defense policy think tank, the Jamestown Foundation, published an analysis article by Adrian Zenz on the leaked report.
Following the revelation that Volkswagen’s audit of the Xinjiang factory did not meet SA8000 international standards, the World Uyghur Congress, composed of exiled Uyghurs, reiterated its call for “Volkswagen to completely withdraw its presence and supply chain in East Turkestan and close its joint ventures.”
The UK’s Financial Times cited Volkswagen’s response, stating that auditors only used the SA8000 standard as a “basis,” but that “a comprehensive review of all points mentioned in the standard is necessary.” The automaker said it “complies with legal requirements in communication” and added that “investors or the public have never been deceived.”
Last year, investors requested an independent audit of labor conditions at a factory jointly owned by Volkswagen and the state-owned SAIC Motor in Xinjiang, where rights groups have documented abusive treatment of workers, including forced labor in camps.
The Chinese government has consistently denied any abuse allegations.
At that time, Volkswagen stated that it had engaged the German human rights due diligence firm Löning, which applied the SA8000 standard, a management system standard based on international human rights principles that assess eight areas including child labor, forced labor, and health and safety.
However, the Financial Times discovered that according to the list compiled by the standard-setting organization, Social Accountability International, neither Löning nor Guangdong Liangma Law Firm were recognized to conduct SA8000 audits.
The summary of the leaked report was released in December last year, stating no signs of forced labor were found. Subsequently, Löning distanced itself publicly from the report summary, noting challenges in collecting data (including interviews) in China are well known.
According to the leaked report, the audit work was carried out by Guangdong Liangma Law Firm’s lawyer, Simon Choi, a chief consultant who has lectured at various Chinese universities; Wen Xu, a corporate law partner and former CCP employee; and Clive Greenwood, the firm’s chief compliance officer.
The report did not mention Löning or their employee Christian Ewert, who Volkswagen had previously stated accompanied the Guangdong Liangma Law Firm’s staff.
Löning declined the Financial Times’ request for comment, and neither Guangdong Liangma Law Firm nor the two lawyers involved in the audit responded.
Of note, Adrian Zenz’s analysis of the leaked report pointed out that the auditors did not inquire about forced labor to general employees, only managers were asked about issues related to forced labor.
Furthermore, interviews with Uyghurs and other workers were conducted through remote monitoring via live video calls, allowing direct surveillance by the Chinese authorities. This action seriously violates the SA8000 requirement of face-to-face interviews with workers.