A Mystery at Ivanka's Shoe Factory

This week, an activist group reported that one of its investigators had been arrested and two others had disappeared while conducting an undercover probe of a Chinese shoe factory. The factory, owned by the Huajian Group, makes as many as 20 million pairs of shoes a year for some of the world's top labels. But in recent months, it's become famous for one of its smaller clients: Ivanka Trump's brand.

Much about this incident remains unclear. But I'd bet on one thing: It's highly unlikely that it has much of anything to do with the Trumps. Instead, the officials involved were most likely engaged in a ham-handed effort to prevent labor unrest and protect a major employer at a time when China's traditional factories are badly ailing.