At the VW general meeting, there were cake throws and disruptive actions by activists. Clinging to the Chinese plant in Xinjiang Province has also been criticized.
Protests and incidents severely disrupted the Volkswagen Group’s annual general meeting in Berlin on Wednesday. During the introductory words of the chairman of the supervisory board, Hans Dieter Pötsch, a person threw an object onto the podium. This was apparently intended to hit the representative of the owner families, Wolfgang Porsche. However, that didn’t work. Pötsch briefly interrupted his speech and continued after the security forces intervened. Afterwards, a pulpy mass could be seen on the white band in front of Porsche’s place on the podium.
Later, a shirtless activist disrupted CEO Oliver Blume’s speech with loud shouts and a poster – the object of criticism was VW’s adherence to the Chinese plant in Xinjiang province. The woman was led out of the meeting hall by security forces. Blume then continued with his remarks. Later, too, there was a short interruption of the meeting by loud shouting.
The VW plant in Xinjiang has been criticized for a long time. People also demonstrated against it in front of the assembly building. According to human rights organizations, the Muslim Uyghur minority living in the province is being specifically suppressed by the government in Beijing. VW is accused of not doing enough against alleged forced labor at local suppliers. VW counters that there are no signs of human rights violations in the plant.
Source: Stern
