As indicated in Table 4.6, “human interest” accounted for only 11.3% of frames.
However, despite the limited amount it received in coverage of the Foxconn suicide jumps, articles in this category showed how the four dailies shaped the images of workers and employers in this incident.
Workers
In the early discussions of labor issue in this news event, the four Taiwanese dailies always quoted the narration of the working life in Foxconn from Chinese media as sources. These descriptions consistently showed the negative part of the job, as shown in:
10 Consecutive Foxconn Suicide Jumps
A Non-stop 24-7 Factory with 420,000 Working Robots
Working at the largest OEM factory in the world, 11 daily working hours, one day off per week, pay per month NT$ 11,000, they are either sleeping or
With a not-too-low monthly pay of RMB$ 2,300 (approximately NT$
11,000), you would need to work 11 hours a day, and only one day off every week. No wonder Foxconn workers wrote this sentence on the Internet: I’m living in a cycle of “going to work, coming off work, and sleeping.”
“Basic level workers work like machines everyday. One can say that they’re trained to be machines.” Ma Li-qun summed the management culture of Foxconn’s factories nicely. (United Daily- May 22, 2010)
富士康十連跳
Workers Not Engage in Conversations during Breaks, Expressionless When Working
Higher ranked workers were moving around in golf carts, while the production line workers were walking among crowd. The different color uniforms differentiate working departments. Although the colors are different, what is the same are the young faces, with their eyes showing boredom and unease.
One worker said that everyone starts working everyday when they wake up, and after 12 full hours of work standing up, their legs have had more than enough, making them hard to squeeze out time for entertainment.
During lunch break, people stormed out of the large square factories, much like ants. The “ants” are chatting on the grass, some are smoking, some looking at the sky, some doing nothing, all under the hot sun. When the break is over, the “ants” all return to work quietly, rapidly, and without expressions.
(Apple Daily- May 27, 2010) 員工休息不交談 上工面無表情
高階員工開著高爾夫球車往來穿梭，生產線員工擁擠地走在路上，藍、白、
紅色工作服區分單位，顏色雖不同，但相同的是年輕的臉龐，雙眼透露著些 許煩悶。
員工卻說，大家每天天亮一睜開眼就上工，站滿 12 小時後早就雙腿
發軟，很難擠出時間去娛樂。
Gradually, such concrete descriptions were extended to more abstract context.
Articles started to explore the stories behind these Foxconn workers and young, migrant workers of the new generation in general. For instance:
Leaving Home for Work: “Tired, but I Still Need to Go on”
In Longhua Plant, what can be seen is all adolescents. The 11 suicide jumps workers were all aged around 20. What these adolescents have in common is that they are young, leaving hometowns for work, and have to support their families. (Apple Daily- May 27, 2010)
離鄉賺錢「再怎麼累 我都得撐」
走進龍華廠區，舉目所見都是年輕面孔，連 11 跳的員工多是 20 歲 上下的年輕人，他們共同特徵除了年紀輕、離鄉背井，還背著養家重擔。
(蘋果日報，2010 年 5 月 27 日) Strike. Transformation. New Era
The immigrant workers of the 2nd generation try hard to make money to dodge farming with a wandering mind.
New workers spare no effort to make ‘subsistence money.’ Noticing in front for them are abandoned villages whereas in the back are unfamiliar cities, they come to realize that as their dreams grow greater, their sense of loss becomes intense.
For this second generation, they have more dreams than people in their fathers’ generation. Salaries obtained from laboring work could no longer satisfy them. Along the line, what they expect is to get rid of their status of farmers and to gain a sense of belonging and acceptance in their cities.
In the Foxconn incident, those who committed suicides belong to this new generation. ‘Who is the one that commits suicide by jumping in Foxconn because of welfare problems,’ Liu, Fang-rong, the manager of Friendly Business Group, the company has been providing financial and lawful
counseling for Taiwan businessment in China for a long time, questioned.
People always attributed this incident to welfare problems. However, such welfare problems, as a matter of fact, are easy to handle. But, problems of immigrant workers are not just a matter of money.
He pointed out that young labor in China have a strong sense of ‘target loss’ toward the whole society, which suggests that this sense of loss has to do with the predicaments of the overall social structure in China instead of economic problems. (United Daily- July 7, 2010)
罷工‧轉型‧新變局
Why Suicide? Work in the City with No One to Speak to
Fei, Jing-di, the 23-year-old worker from Guizou used to live in the same room with Ma Xiang-qian, who committed suicide, said, ‘there were 10 people from different sections living in the room. We often did not have any talk, behaving like strangers.’ He further pointed out that after seven months, he could not even identify the names of his nine roommates.
Chang Ming, a professor from the department of politics at Renmin University of China, said that labor is not machines or components. While living in the rooms, they do not have any cultural entertainments nor any friends to mingle with, which, for migrant works of the 80s and the 90s, is intolerable.
Many of them are the only child of their families and their mental state is weaker. Though living in cites, they have difficulties adapting themselves to
the cities. The suicide jump incidents in Foxconn can be considered the call for life. (United Daily- May 16, 2010)
為何尋死？城市討生活 有話沒處說
To part-time workers, every payday of the month, namely the 10th, is the most relaxing day since they can enjoy the happiness of spending money to reward themselves.
Sometimes “getting injured at work” is bliss for workers since they can take a day off and rest in hospital with pay.
What is the dream for these workers? The answer is all the same- to run his or her own business and get a handsome fortune. The article (published by Southern Weekend) said that workers in the warehouse humorously “named”
the manual pallet trucks as “BMW”. (China Times- May 15, 2010)
對打工仔來說，每月十號發工資當天，是活的最闊綽的一天…享受
In sum, when portraying Chinese workers, the four dailies showed great interest in young workers’ working life and sorrows of the generation. Workers were described as “robots” or “ants” that “are trained to be machines” and “live in the cycle of going to work, coming off work and sleeping.” They “start working everyday when they wake up.” They “have no expression when working and do not talk during breaks.”
to “support their family” and wish to “get rid of the peasant identity.” However, although they “dream big, the sense of loss is tremendous as well.” These lexical descriptions gave readers sympathetic feelings to the young workers.
Employers
When describing employer in “human interest”, most of the dailies tended to dwell upon chairman Terry Guo, focusing on how he was challenged in this incident, what efforts he had made to handle the crisis and how he was evaluated in this crisis management, as in:
Terry Guo said that he had spent all night thinking about how to face the media the day before yesterday. He showed media his notebook which was filled with his notes about how to prevent workers from suicide and how to explain to media, “I just put them down whenever I have an idea.” (United Daily- May 27, 2010)
郭台銘說，前晚整夜他都在思考如何面對媒體，他還亮出隨身筆記 本，上面註記密密麻麻，寫著有關防範員工輕生及對媒體說明內容，半夜
「想到一點，我就寫一點」。(聯合報，2010 年 5 月 27 日)
Safety Amulet Lost Its Effect, Bad Luck Challenged Guo (China Times- May 27, 2010)
「平安」符破功 厄運考驗郭台銘 (中國時報，2010 年 5 月 27 日)
Avoid Demonization, a Difficult Lesson for Guo (China Times- May 28, 2010) 不被「妖魔化」 郭台銘最棘手的課題 (中國時報，2010 年 5 月 28 日)
Terry Guo has been disappointed with the accusation of “blood and sweat factory”, “bar culture”, “the shame of Taiwan” against Hong Hai. To handle the Foxconn crisis, Guo did not even come back to Taiwan for the Dragon Boat Festival or his mother’s birthday. (China Times- July 22, 2010)
郭台銘對於近來鴻海不斷被批評為血汗工廠、酒店文化、台灣之恥，
感到相當痛心，為了處理富士康的事，郭台銘端午節和母親生日，都沒有 回台灣。(中國時報，2010 年 7 月 22 日)
Guo has acted actively, sincerely and positively towards the Foxconn suicide incident. He increased the wages by 120%, promoting the awareness of taking care of workers in China. (Apple Daily- July 23, 2010)
郭董對富士康事件的反應積極、善意、又正面，全員加薪 120％，帶 動中國照顧勞工的意識。(蘋果日報，2010 年 7 月 23 日)
When dealing with the suicide incident, Guo partitioned off part of the office with a thin plywood as a contemporary dorm, where he slept every night during the incident. There is no tile on the floor, only a closet with clothes hangers and a bed with a mosquito curtain. This is also the place where Guo did the interview. (Apple Daily- Sept. 8, 2010)
郭台銘處理自殺事件時，每晚睡在辦公室隔出的臨時寢室，這間寢 室和辦公室僅用薄薄的夾板隔間，水泥地板連磁磚都沒鋪，只有衣櫃、衣 架，和一張掛上蚊帳的床，郭台銘也在此接受專訪。(蘋果日報，2010 年 9 月 8 日)
Calculation Makes Guo Still the Winner Despite Crisis (China Times- June 10, 2010)
一石數鳥算得精 郭台銘還是贏家 (中國時報，2010 年 6 月 10 日) In the meanwhile, Guo’s emotions in presence of the media were also in focus. They were carried out with a use of strong adjectives, as demonstrated:
Guo Appears Tired with Red Eyes
Feeling sad, Guo has not slept well for a month.
(Liberty Times- May 27, 2010) 滿臉疲憊且眼睛泛紅的郭台銘
內心感到非常沉痛，已連續一個月無法睡好覺 (自由時報，2010 年 5 月 27 日)
Guo Bows and Apologizes in Press Conference
Guo ran back and forth across both sides of the Straits today, showing exhaustion and tense expressions on his face from time to time.
He said yesterday that he has been afraid of answering phone calls at night or early in the morning for the recent two months. He said that he and
(United Daily- May 27, 2010)
Guo Bows 4 Times, Foxconn Proposes 6 Preventive Policies
Terry Guo, who always appears to be aggressive and fully concentrated on his career, bowed for apology four times with teary red eyes. (Apple Daily- May 27, 2010)
郭董眼眶泛紅 4 度鞠躬 富士康 6 措施防跳樓
打拼事業霸氣十足的郭董，眼眶泛紅四度鞠躬道歉。(蘋果日報，2010 年 5 月 27 日)
Hong Hai Stays Low-key, Guo Looks Tired and Occupied (Liberty Times- May 28, 2010)
鴻海低調 郭董疲憊心事重重 (自由時報，2010 年 5 月 28 日)
Crisis Continues
Jumps and Wrist-slitting Make Guo Feels Over-stretched (United Daily- May 28, 2010)
富士康 未止血
跳樓又割腕郭董疲於奔命 (聯合報，2010 年 5 月 28 日)
Showing up with bloodshot eyes, Guo has not slept well for a month. He felt shocked and heavy to the series of suicide jumps. (China Times- May 28, 2010)
原本已一個月沒睡好、眼睛佈滿血絲的郭台銘，心情相當沉重與震 驚。(中國時報，2010 年 5 月 28 日)
Aside from Guo’s response to the incident, newspapers also devoted some coverage to examine his characteristics as a businessman.
Hong Hai’s Ex-adviser Xin Huai-nan: Guo is Calculating, Like a Chinese Legalist
Xin said, “Guo is born as a man of rules with an iron fist. For instance, he once told me that ‘management’ should be translated into “control” (guan kong), instead of ‘management’ (guan li). He divides clients to the first division, second, and the third. It is definitely a military-management style.”
Xin described Guo as a Chinese legalist, who is good at calculating, using strategies, and taking good advantage of opportunities to establish authority. He said, “He is brilliant. For example, when meeting with Japanese clients, he would walk in the office half an hour late purposely, and in slippers, establishing his authority first.” (United Daily- June 2, 2010)
鴻海前顧問 信懷南：郭董像法家 工於心計
In terms of Cross-Strait relationship, Terry Guo and those Taiwan-based enterprises have contributed a lot to China’s economic development. Without their effort, there would have been no economic boost on both sides of the Strait. (Apple Daily- June 16, 2010)
就兩岸關係看，郭台銘及台商對大陸經濟的發展貢獻卓著；若無郭 及台商，中國和台灣的經濟發展不可能這麼迅速。(蘋果日報，2010 年 6 月 16 日)
Businessweek: Terry Guo is Like Henry Ford
Businessweek indicated that what Terry Guo is doing now can be traced back in history. As early as a century ago, Henry Ford realized the importance of the vertical assembly line. (Liberty Times- Sept. 14, 2010)
美國商業週刊 郭台銘可比車王福特
商業週刊（Businessweek）指出，在進入廿一世紀之際，全球產業革 命性的改變中，郭台銘扮演的角色其實是有例可循。一個世紀前，亨利福 特（Henry Ford）就認知到垂直整合生產線的重要性。
(自由時報，2010 年 9 月 14 日)
In September and October, the time when the incident no longer attracted much media attention as it did in May and June, Guo started to take media interviews to rebuild his
images, a recommendation from a public relations company. According to Guo, this was the first time that his company hired a professional publicist to handle the crisis.
In these interviews, Guo reviewed his wrongs and rights and the shift of emotions during the incident and shared his present personal life.
Terry Guo, the father-to-be chairman of Hong Hai, said that these
“post-90” kids do not need to leave their home to Shenzhen for work anymore.
He said that there would be seniors to guide and comfort them hereafter,
“Hong Hai’s workers would not need to stay in the stressful dorm anymore.”
(Apple Daily- Sept. 8, 2010)
即將迎接另一個新生命的郭台銘以為人父的和藹語氣表示，這些「90 後」的孩子不必再離鄉背井到深圳去，以後身邊會有長輩開導、安慰他們，
「鴻海員工以後不會一直待在充滿壓力的宿舍裡。」(蘋果日報，2010 年 9 月 8 日)
Speaking of his greatest wish and happiness in present life, Guo considered it as “bathing his one-year-old daughter, Niu Niu.”
Guo said that he worked for money in the first twenty years in his life, for a dream in the second twenty years, and now he will work for interest for the next twenty years. He now works 16 hours a day with a yearly salary of 1 NT. (Apple Daily- Oct. 31, 2010)
談到自己目前最大的願望和幸福，郭台銘說是「幫 1 歲多的女兒妞妞 洗澡」。
郭台銘表示，前面 20 年人生是為錢工作，後面 20 年是為理想工作，
往後 20 年他會為興趣而工作，他現在每天工作 16 個小時，1 年的年薪就 是 1 元台幣。(蘋果日報，2010 年 10 月 31 日)
In short, the dailies described Guo from various angles in differing rhetoric. At work, he is “keen”, “strategic”, and “military.” Throughout the incident, Guo appeared to be
“tired”, “tightly screwed”, “pained”, “with a heavy heart ”, “kept constantly on the run”, “tear red eyes”, an image that was so different from what he used to be. After the crisis, Guo showed up as a “caring father” to his daughter as well as the workers.
These rhetoric led readers to know Guo from different perspectives.
As presented above, the rhetoric used to describe Guo during the incident was found to correspond to the findings in the aforementioned section that discussed actors in photographs. The dailies continued the “personalizing transformations” in photos to the use of strong adjectives in articles. In this way, readers were implicitly informed with the incident stressing more on Guo’s responses. By suggesting visually and literally, the same effect was received- focus shifting to Guo himself from the suicides, the workers, and their management style found earlier in the news.