"Chinese labour activist says he was arrested due to factory's Trump links", 10 Jul 2017

Hua Haifeng spent weeks in detention after undercover investigation revealed abuse of workers at Ganzhou factory that makes shoes for Ivanka Trump’s brand…Hua Haifeng told the Guardian how he was interrogated in marathon sessions every other day for a month, during which police repeatedly asked him for details of his investigation…Hua and two other investigators, Li Zhao and Su Heng, found evidence of labour abuses at the factory manufacturing Ivanka Trump shoes, including below minimum wage pay, verbal abuse of workers and the use of derogatory language towards female employees. Li and Su were also released on bail on 28 June…

Calls to Huajian Group, the owner of the factory, have gone unanswered, but it has previously told Associated Press that all allegations of labour violations were “completely not true to the facts, taken out of context [and] exaggerated”... In June, Abigail Klem, president of the Ivanka Trump brand, told the Guardian in a statement: “Ivanka Trump HQ is committed to only working with licensees who maintain internationally recognised labor standards across their supply chains.” …Ivanka Trump herself, who has not commented on Hua’s case...Ganzhou public security bureau hung up when contacted by the Guardian.

Hua was released on bail on 28 June, but still faces charges of illegally using surveillance equipment…Hua has undertaken undercover investigations at dozens of other factories in recent years; this was his first arrest. The former factory worker has been advocating for better labour conditions since 2003 …