Apple asked to intercede on behalf of Chinese reporters
The Reporters Without Borders organization has sent a letter to Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs asking him to implore iPod supplier Foxconn to drop a lawsuit against two Chinese journalists who wrote an article critical of working conditions at a Foxconn Electronics factory.
Wang You and Weng Bao of China Business News have been hit with a libel suit filed by Foxconn after they wrote a story critical of working conditions at a Foxconn plant where iPods are manufactured. After Apple launched an investigation follwing an earlier report from England's Daily Mail, it agreed that the work hours were excessive at the plant but found that no one was being forced against their will to work overtime. Foxconn changed its policy on overtime to comply with Apple's supplier code of conduct, Apple announced earlier this month.
But the China Business Daily journalists have had their assets frozen as a result of their articles, according to Reporters Without Borders and other reports coming out of the region.
"We believe that all Wang and Weng did was report the facts and we condemn Foxconn's reaction. We therefore ask you to intercede on behalf of these two journalists so that their assets are unfrozen and the lawsuit is dropped," Reporters Without Borders said in the letter. An Apple representative did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
