Men investigating Ivanka Trump brand in China arrested, missing: report

One man has been arrested and two others are missing after investigating working conditions at a Chinese company that produces Ivanka Trump-brand shoes, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The three men were working with China Labor Watch, a New York-based nonprofit, which was reportedly planning to publish a report next month alleging low pay and excessive overtime use by the Chinese company.

According the AP, Hua Haifeng was arrested and accused of illegal surveillance. China Labor Watch said it lost touch with the other two men, Li Zhao and Su Heng, over the weekend.

{mosads}The three men were investigating Ganzhou Huajian International Shoe City Co.’s factory in Jiangxi province in southeast China. Heng had been working undercover at the factory since April, China Labor Watch Director Li Qiang said. The parent company is known as Huajian Group.

The Huajian Group told the AP that it makes 10,000 to 20,000 pairs of shoes for the first daughter’s brand each year. The Ivanka Trump brand reportedly produces 20 million pairs of shoes annually.

According to the report, the three men had already documented excessive overtime and a below-minimum-wage base salary at the Chinese company. 

In a statement, the Democratic National Committee called for Trump and the Trump administration to “confront China on its human rights abuses,” in response to the report.

“We deeply hope that these detained or missing human rights workers are safe and can be reunited with their families as soon as possible,” DNC deputy communications director Adrienne Watson said in a statement. “For years, Ivanka Trump has ignored public reports of awful labor conditions at a factory that makes her shoes. Now, she must decide whether she can ignore the Chinese government’s apparent attempt to silence an investigation into those worker abuses.”

The DNC also called for the Trump brand to cease its work with the supplier.