Three of the world's largest IT companies said yesterday that they were investigating working conditions at Foxconn after a series of suicides at the huge manufacturing plant in southern China they use to make electronic goods.

　　全球三大IT公司昨日表示，它们正在对富士康(Foxconn)的工作条件展开调查。此前，在富士康位于华南的大型制造业园区，先后出现一系列自杀事件。富士康为这三家IT公司代工生产电子产品。

　　Nine workers at Foxconn's Shenzhen plant, which employs and houses 300,000 people, have died after falling off buildings since the beginning of this year, the latest on Tuesday. Police have confirmed seven of the cases as suicide. Two other workers attempted to kill themselves by jumping off buildings but survived.

　　富士康深圳园区雇佣着30万名工人，这些工人就居住在园区内。自今年初以来，已有九名工人坠楼身亡，最新一起出现在本周二。警方已经证实，其中七起为自杀。此外，还有两名工人跳楼自杀，但大难不死。

　　The suicides have forced the normally secretive Taiwanese company – which makes products such as smartphones and digital cameras under contract for many of the world's biggest technology companies – to be more open about its working practices.

　　这些自杀事件已迫使通常处在保密状态的富士康提高其工作实践的透明度。这家台湾公司为许多全球最大的高科技公司代工生产智能手机和数码相机等产品。

　　Apple, one of Foxconn's main customers, said a team from the US group was independently evaluating the steps the Taiwanese group was taking “to address these tragic events” and would continue inspections of the facilities where its products are made.

　　身为富士康主要客户之一的苹果公司(Apple)表示，它派出的一支小组正对富士康采取的“应对此类悲剧性事件”的举措进行独立评估。苹果公司还会继续实地考察为自己代工生产产品的工厂。

　　Hewlett-Packard said it was “investigating the Foxconn practices that may be associated with these tragic events”. Dell said it expected suppliers to stick to the same high standards it had in its own facilities and was enforcing these standards through a variety of tools.

　　惠普(HP)表示，它正在“对富士康的那些可能与此类悲剧性事件有关的实践展开调查”。戴尔(Dell)则表示，它期望供应商恪守与戴尔旗下工厂相同的高标准，并正通过各种方式，让供应商执行这些标准。

　　It emerged on Tuesday that Foxconn had asked workers to sign a form in which they agreed to ask no more than legal compensation from the company for eventual injuries not caused by the employer, including from suicide attempts.

　　本周二传出消息称，富士康曾要求工人签署一份协议，要求工人答应：若发生非公司责任原因导致的意外伤亡事件（含自杀），绝不向公司提出法定赔偿之外的过当诉求。

　　A Foxconn manager said the company had paid the families of the dead workers some money to express its sympathy, but management was worried that the practice was encouraging copycat suicides.

　　富士康的一位经理表示，公司向坠楼身亡工人的家属支付了一些赔偿金以表示同情，但公司管理层担心，这种做法会鼓励其它工人仿效自杀者。

　　Mr Gou yesterday said he was taking back the contract limiting the company's responsibility as he felt the language was inappropriate.

　　郭台铭昨日表示，他将收回这份限定公司责任的协议，因为他觉得协议内容的表述失之偏颇。