A Blue Christmas at China's North Pole

Dongguan produces a vast amount of the toys that will end up under Christmas trees around the world. Or it did, until all the factories there started to close, leaving thousands of workers out of luck

DONG NAN / COLOR CHINA PHOTO / SIPA

Factory workers smash an office during a protest at toy factory Kai Da in Dongguan, China, on Nov. 25

At about 6 o'clock on Thursday evening, near what used to be quitting time for the day shift at the He Jun toy factory in Dongguan, China, 40-year-old Wei Dong Li made his way to the factory's front entrance, his 3-year-old son Qian Jie tugging at his sleeve. The factory is now closed; a few security guards stand inside the locked gate. Posted each evening at the front entrance is a sheaf of documents, the latest rulings from a local court on compensation claims filed by many of He Jun's 4,000 workers, Wei included. "They process a few of...

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