CAN CHINA INNOVATE ?

CAN CHINA INNOVATE ?

     The immense weight of China dominates much economic prognostication these days. Will it overtake the USA and become the dominant power of this century ? What are its strengths and weaknesses ? In the November 18 edition of Time Magazine Michael Schuman looks at this question from the perspective of China's need to learn innovation. Not simply to produce. This is one area in which it is well behind the USA, to the great comfort of American apologists.

      China is facing a period of transition and needs to adjust.

     "China is a victim of its own success....The country can no longer rely on making lots of stuff; China has to invent things, design them, brand them and market them. Instead of following the leaders of global industry, China has to produce leaders of its own."

     China has taken steps to address the needs of its new stage of development, but it has a long way to go. Chinese labour is no longer the dollar-store market of the world. Chinese firms are beginning to outsource to other countries. The author looks at one instance, that of Speciality Medical Supplies who tried this year to shift production to India. Their Chinese workers revolted and held the American manager hostage in his office for six days. Tsk !

     Labour costs in Mumbai would have been 75% less than in Beijing. Wages in China are growing, courtesy of demographics and a shortage of skilled labour. Companies such as toymaker K'NEX are even beginning to "reshore" production back to the USA as other financial factors put pressure on the shrinking labour-cost advantage of China versus America.

     There is also the problem of China's slow adoption of cutting-edge technology. The failure of China's auto industry to make an impression in world markets is illustrative. Failure to adapt has resulted in a 49% rate of initial defects in Chinese-made cars. Ooops ! China has overtaken South Korea as the world's largest shipbuilder, but its vessels are built on older models while the Koreans have moved on to the lucrative markets of supermassive container ships and vessels for energy exploration.

     What innovation there is in China generally builds incrementally on existing technology rather than groundbreaking ideas. The Chinese educational system is good at skill-building but poor at instilling creativity. Chinese engineers tend to be conservative and every concerned about possible consequences of failure. Especially when new ideas are involved.

     China is also notably deficient in marketing. As the author says; "Chinese executives are too fixated on their production and not enough on their customers.". This may be a hangover from the Marxist mode of management, and new Chinese entrepreneurs are indeed trying better ways to sell their products to the world. Jazzed up with a veneer of the exoticism of Chinese culture.

     China lacks management skills, and those who have them can often command relatively huge salaries. Some firms have responded by making their businesses top heavy. What they lack in quality they try to make up for in quantity. Perhaps this managerial over-oversight is also a Marxist leftover.

     Yes, China has had almost miraculous economic growth, but there are many problems that still hold the country back. This article is a good overview of some of them. It's valuable even though it is replete with "evidence" that is only anecdotal.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS CHINA:

FREE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER LIU XIAOBO:

Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo is this year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. At the present time he is serving an 11 years sentence for the "crime" or persistently advocating democracy and freedom in China. There isa petition directed to the Chinese authorities demanding his release. Here's the story.

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Free the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo


Signature goal: 100,000
Target: Chinese Government
Sponsored by: a Chinese citizen
Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate for year 2010, was sentenced to 11 years of prison on December 25th 2009 under the name of 'inciting subversion' because of his initiation of 'Charter 08' which calls for democracy and protection of human rights in China.

The sentence is unacceptable and illegitimate, as it's completely against fundamental human rights and China's constitution.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19 states that:"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

According to Chinese Constitution Article 35, the freedoms of expression and publishing are protected as well:"The citizens of China enjoy freedom of expression, publishing, assembly, association, manifestation and demonstration."

Liu Xiaobo has been fighting for democracy and human rights for more than 20 years, and has been put into prison for many times. He is a beacon for those who are striving for the political progress in China, and those who are living in the dark.

Please join the petition, voice your support, to urge the Chinese government to release Liu Xiaobo immediately.

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THE PETITION:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to the Chinese authorities. The campaign's goal is 100,000 signatures. The last time Molly looked there were about 26,000 people signed up. Help out and sign up.

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We the undersigned, urge the Chinese government to release Liu Xiaobo immediately.

Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate for year 2010, was sentenced to 11 years of prison on December 25th 2009 under the name of 'inciting subversion' because of his initiation of 'Charter 08' which calls for democracy and protection of human rights in China.

The sentence is unacceptable and illegitimate, as it's completely against fundamental human rights and China's constitution.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19 states that:"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

According to Chinese Constitution Article 35, the freedoms of expression and publishing are protected as well:"The citizens of China enjoy freedom of expression, publishing, assembly, association, manifestation and demonstration."

Liu Xiaobo has been fighting for democracy and human rights for more than 20 years, and has been put into prison for many times. He is a beacon for those who are striving for the political progress in China, and those who are living in the dark.

We urge the Chinese government to respect fundamental human rights and its own constitution, and release Liu Xiaobo immediately

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CHINA:

GOONS ATTACK GOLD PEAK BATTERY WORKERS:

Last March Molly mentioned a solidarity campaign for workers at Gold Peak Battery in Huizhou China. Since then things have gone from bad to worse, and the latest incident involves the company hiring violent thugs to attack the workers. This is merely one incident out of many as workers in China are increasingly unwilling to accept poorly paid and dangerous sweat shop conditions. Here's the story in the form of a letter from the Good Electronics network.

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Violence used against protesting Gold Peak Battery workers in Huizhou, China‏
Dear Reader,

Earlier this year, you showed your support for the struggle of cadmium affected Gold Peak workers in China. Hundreds of protest letters were sent to Gold Peak. In response, the company sent a lame and noncommittal message, telling us to refrain from contacting GP’s customers as “facts show that GP is a responsible employer and our staff and workers are happy to stay with”. Globalization Monitor has continued working on this case. Today, I feel compelled to inform you about the most recent developments.


Since 16 August, ex-workers of Gold Peak Batteries who are suffering from excessive levels of cadmium are once again trying to engage the company into negotiations about compensation for their health problems. So far, GP has ignored the workers’ demands. On 24 August, over a hundred workers staged a protest outside Gold Peak's factory in Huizhou. Some hours into the demonstration, the protesting workers representatives were surrounded and beaten up by a large group of thugs. A number of workers were badly injured and needed hospitalisation. Shockingly, the thugs told that they were paid 50 dollars to beat up protesting workers. Reportedly, two GP security guards assisted in bringing in the thugs. Workers concerned point a finger at GP for staging this violent incident which is strongly condemned by civil society organisations in Hong Kong and elsewhere. Gold Peak however refuses to pay for the medical expenses. The workers raised fund among themselves in order to pay for the hospital bills.

In an open letter dated 25 August 2010, 200 workers express their shock and anger.


More information can be fund on the websites of the Hong Kong based labour rights group Globalization Monitor and GoodElectronics.
Sincerely,
Pauline Overeem
Network Coordinator
GoodElectronics
International Network on Human Rights & Sustainability in Electronics

HUMOUR:

THE SAD END OF EMPIRE:

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR- CHINA:

A NEW WAY TO ORGANIZE:

The communist/capitalist rulers of the Peoples' Republic of China have recently been challenged by a grass roots movement of striking workers at Honda manufacturing plants. Fearful of the spread of this workers' rebellion, outside of the official Communist Party unions, the government has actually conceded to the workers' demands. the reason for this is detailed below. The workers have managed to go beyond the official trade unions and coordinate their actions via the internet. It's an interesting though. Personally I have always favoured established radical anarchosyndicalist unions whatever their disadvantages. In some situations, however, where it is impossible to maintain alternative unions it is still possible given modern technology for a mass movement to grow, as it has in China. Here's the story from the New York Times.

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In China, Labor Movement Enabled by Technology
By DAVID BARBOZA and KEITH BRADSHER

The 1,700 workers who went on strike at the Honda Lock auto parts factory here are mostly poor migrants with middle-school educations.

But they are surprisingly tech-savvy.

Hours into a strike that began last week, they started posting detailed accounts of the walkout online, spreading word not only among themselves but also to restive and striking workers elsewhere in China.

They fired off cellphone text messages urging colleagues to resist pressure from factory bosses. They logged onto a state-controlled Web site — workercn.cn — that is emerging as a digital hub of the Chinese labor movement. And armed with desktop computers, they uploaded video of Honda Lock’s security guards roughing up employees.

“We videotaped the strike with our cellphones and decided to post the video online to let other people know how unfairly we were treated,” said a 20-year-old Honda employee who asked not to be named because of the threat of retaliation.

The disgruntled workers in this southern Chinese city took their cues from earlier groups of Web-literate strikers at other Honda factories, who in mid-May set up Internet forums and made online bulletin board postings about their own battle with the Japanese automaker over wages and working conditions.

But they have also tapped into a broader communications web enabling the working class throughout China to share grievances and strategies. Some strike leaders now say they spend much of their time perusing the Web for material on China’s labor laws.

Wielding cellphones and keyboards, members of China’s emerging labor movement so far seem to be outwitting official censors in an effort to build broad support for what they say is a war against greedy corporations and their local government allies.

And it might not be possible if the Chinese government had not made a concerted effort in the last decade to shrink the country’s digital divide by lowering the cost of mobile phone and Internet service in this country — a modernization campaign that has given China the world’s biggest Internet population (400 million) and allowed even the poorest of the poor to log onto the Internet and air their labor grievances.

“This is something people haven’t paid attention to — migrant workers can organize using these technologies,” said Guobin Yang, a professor at Barnard College and author of “The Power of the Internet in China: Citizen Activism Online.”

“Usually we think of this kind of thing being used by middle-class youths and intellectuals,” Professor Yang said.

The Web and digital devices, analysts say, have become vehicles of social change in much the way the typewriter and mimeograph machine were the preferred media during the pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989 — before the government put down that movement in the June 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown that left hundreds dead.

A looming question now, in fact, is whether and when the government might seek to quash the current worker uprisings if they become too big a threat to the established social order. Already, the government has started cracking down on strike-related Web sites and deleted many of the blog posts about the strikes.

The instant messaging service QQ, which is accessible via the Web or mobile phone — and was perhaps the early favorite network of strike leaders because of its popularity among young people — was soon infiltrated by Honda Lock officials and government security agents, forcing some to move to alternative sites, strike leaders say.

“We’re not using QQ any more,” said one strike leader here. “There were company spies that got in. So now we’re using cellphones more.”

Analysts say they were smart to change.

“QQ offers no protection from eavesdropping by the Chinese authorities, and it is just as well they stopped using it,” said Rebecca MacKinnon, a China specialist and fellow at the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University. “QQ is not secure. You might as well be sharing your information with the Public Security Bureau.”

But the activists say they are getting around some of those restraints by shifting to different platforms (including a Skype-like network called YY Voice) and using code words to discuss protest gatherings.

For years, labor activists have been exposing the harsh working conditions in Chinese factories by smuggling cellphone images and video out of coastal factories and posting documents showing labor law violations on the Web. New and notable is that these formerly covert activities have become open and pervasive.

Last month, for example, when a string of puzzling suicides was reported at Foxconn Technology near here, one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers, there were online video postings reportedly showing security guards manhandling workers.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR- CHINA:

THE DARK SIDE OF THE I-PAD:

Today Apple launched its I-Pad in Canada, Great Britain and 7 other countries. Much as I might have liked to miss the news of people lining up overnight at stores to be the first kid on the block to own the new toy it was inescapable on the radio as I drove around from place to place during work. Now I have to admit that my first impulse was, "what the hell use could this thing have" given the ever-expanding glut of electronic gadgets on the market.

This little item, however, has a more serious and darker side beyond frivolity, and this is connected to yet another news story that I heard a few days ago. Over in Longua in China the Foxconn Company has what may perhaps be the most bizarre demand that an employer has ever made of their workers. Before obtaining employment at their plant Foxconn demands that potential workers sign a "no-suicide" promise saying that they will not kill themselves while working for the company. The reason is that suicide has become quite an epidemic in Longua and Foxconn's other plant in Shenzhen. Since January 10 workers, driven to the wall by brutal working (and living-they live 12 to a room in company dormitories) have taken a do-it-yourself pink slip by killing themselves. Foxconn has responded by a number of steps, similar to the way management across the world blames the worker rather than the conditions. Some are, however, rather unique...'hiring monks to teach the workers to meditate' and literally "installing nets around dormitories to catch jumpers". Much more on what is happening there can be seen in this article from the respected business magazine Forbes, hardly a hotbed of raving leftist radicals.

Now the plot thickens. Foxconn is the source for a number of products for electronics giants such as Sony, Dell, Nokia, Nintendo, Ericsson, Motorola and Hewitt Packard. And, of course, Apple. The trendy I-Pad's seamy underbelly is the brutal working conditions endured by Foxconn employees. Think about that as you line up for the latest in thing.

Some are trying to do something about this. Here's a item from the Maquila Solidarity Network asking for your support for the Foxconn workers. Sign up with your new I-Pad if you have to.

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How many more workers have to die at this Ipad factory before Apple takes action?‏


As consumers rush to get their hands on a new iPad, Apple Inc.’s latest gadget, which officially hit Canadian stores today, Asian civil society organizations are protesting Foxconn, the world’s leading electronics manufacturer and one of Apple’s major suppliers, for its deplorable labour practices which have been linked to 12 worker suicides at one of its Chinese plants this year alone.


The workers have complained of extremely low wages, excessive overtime, extreme productivity targets and a particularly harsh and isolating management system.


Please take a minute to support the Foxconn workers by clicking here now


Foxconn blames the workers


Foxconn has responded by setting up nets around the factories dormitories and buildings, bringing in mental health experts, and asking workers to contractually agree not to commit suicide and to report colleagues who appear to be undergoing distress. Unfortunately, this ‘blame the victim’ approach treats the suicides as an individualized problem of the workers themselves and de-emphasizes the role that workplace practices played in the deaths.


International brands need to take responsibility


As Apple launches its 4th generation iPhone on June 8, Asian labour rights groups are calling for this date to become a Global Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Foxconn. They are demanding that Foxconn shut down production for a month (with full pay) in order to thoroughly investigate the underlying systemic workplace issues and management systems linked to the suicides. They are also asking Foxconn to facilitate the establishment of democratic worker organizations in the factory, so that workers can overcome their isolation and bring problems to management’s attention in a collective manner.


In order to pressure the company, Asian civil society groups are calling on consumers to boycott the products made by Foxconn, including iPhones, and iPads, throughout the month of June.


International electronics brands that source from Foxconn, including Apple Inc, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, and Motorola, must also be pressured to take responsibility for investigating any labour abuses occurring in their supply chains.


Take action now


Take action now by clicking here

to sign a petition initiated by Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), a leading Asian labour rights organization, in support of Foxconn workers and to demand that the causes of these tragic deaths are investigated and addressed.

--
Maquila Solidarity Network
606 Shaw St.
Toronto, ON M6G 3L6
Canada
416 532-8584

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THE PETITION:

Please go to this link to sign a petition in support of the Foxconn workers and also to learn more about the International day of Remembrance on June 8 for the victims of Foxconn. Also, for another take on what lays behind our cheap electronics go to this article from la Revue Gauche out of Edmonton.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-CHINA:

SUPPORT GOLD PEAK BATTERY WORKERS:

The following story and appeal for solidarity comes from the Good Electonics Network, an international network for "human rights and sustainability in electronics".

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Chinese battery producer fails to be a decent employer

Chinese battery producer Gold Peak Industrial Holding Ltd is under fire by Chinese and international labour groups for failing to be a decent employer. Year-long struggles of (ex-) workers with cadmium related health problems have not yet resulted in an acceptable solution. Gold Peak unilateral decision to close down and relocate its Shenzhen-based Jet Power plant, completely disregarding workers interests, has caused distress. Recently, a strike erupted at Power Pack, another Gold Peak subsidiary in Huizhou, China, over wages and benefits. The management's response so far has been totally inadequate. Chinese labour groups have addressed Gold Peak via two open letters, dated 10 and 31 December 2009 respectively.
Gold Peak batteries are used in all types of toys and electronics products.

Support the Gold Peak workers and Chinese labour rights groups in their struggle for labour rights

On 28 April 2009, on the occasion of the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers, GoodElectronics reported about the ongoing struggle of Chinese cadmium poisoned workers, addressing their (former) employer Gold Peak Industrial Holding Ltd for compensation and redress. GoodElectronics called upon Gold Peak and its subsidiaries to listen to the concerns and demands of the affected workers and take appropriate steps to resolve the lingering conflicts. Moreover, GoodElectronics called upon electronic brand name companies sourcing from Gold Peak to look into the issues raised by Gold Peak workers and Chinese labour groups and to put their policies regarding supply chain responsibility in practice.

GoodElectronics appeals to Gold Peak to improve its record

Since then, Gold Peak has made some little steps towards its workers, but the overall picture is still rather grim. It is now time for Gold Peak to structurally improve its labour record. Gold Peak should ensure that the management of its respective subsidiaries engages upon meaningful negotiations with its workers and their representatives on the basis of equality and transparency, in order to resolve disputes over wages, benefits and compensation packages.
GoodElectronics will also address buyers of Gold Peak products.

Click here to join and send a letter to Gold Peak >

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The Letter:

Please go to the links above or to this link to send the following letter to Gold Peak management.

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Mr Victor Lo

Gold Peak Industries (Holdings) Co. Ltd.

Kwai Wing Road, Kwai Chung

New territories

Hong Kong
gp@goldpeak.com

Cc. info@goodelectronics.org

Dear Mr Lo,
Concerned by reports of Globalization Monitor Ltd. and other Chinese and international labour groups, I am calling upon Gold Peak to respect workers rights and to improve working conditions at your subsidiary Power Pack in Huizhou, China. I am especially concerned about the crippled right for compensation and redress of cadmium-affected (ex-) workers of Gold Peak Industries.

I am joining Globalization Monitor Ltd. and other labour groups in their call upon Gold Peak to ensure that the management of Gold Peak subsidiary Power Pack engages upon proper negotiations with its workers and their representatives on the basis of equality and transparency, in order to resolves disputes over wages and benefits.

I support Globalization Monitor Ltd. and other labour groups in stressing that the right to assembly is a basic right according to the Chinese constitution. Dismissing an employee as a punishment for being detained by the local police is unacceptable. I support the demand made to the Power Pack management to reinstate or fully compensate Ms Wang Fengping.

I also support Globalization Monitor Ltd. and the other labour groups in their demand that the Power Pack management looks into the violence used against striking workers by the company’s security guards in December 2009, and to pay the hospitalisation costs of the injured workers.

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-CHINA:

NEW CHINA STUDY GROUP WEBSITE:

The following announcement comes via the Asian Anarchist Network.

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China Study Group Relaunch:‏
China Study Group is pleased to announce the launch of its redesigned site: http://www.chinastudygroup.net .

China Study Group is a global group of scholars and activists concerned with carrying on the critical tradition of China-focused analysis best exemplified by William Hinton. The site has been completely redesigned, and a raft of new bloggers have joined our ranks. China Study Group provides alternative perspectives on China —both its revolutionary past and today’s China in the context of globalization.

Highlights of the new site:

*reviews of Li Minqi's "The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World Economy" and William Hinton's "Through a Glass Darkly: U.S. Views of the Chinese Revolution"

*overview of recent workers' struggles in China

*translations of important works by the Chinese left

*daily China-related news updates

*new bibliographies on China-related topics

*much, much more!

http://www.chinastudygroup.net

contact: chinastudygroup@gmail.com

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-CHINA:

CHINESE WORKERS FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS:

The present economic crisis bites everywhere in the world, even in China whose economy is still growing rather than shrinking. The basis of that growth, however, involves little if any protection for workers' rights and a legal system where it is illegal to organize independent unions. Despite these restrictions Chinese workers are fighting back against their employers, both public and private. Here are a couple of recent examples. First, the story of taxi drivers on strike in both the north and south of China from the LibCom website...

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Taxi strikes in North and South East China:
Taxi drivers in the northeast city of Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province, struck and staged sit-ins outside Communist Party and government offices, whilst in the southeast city of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, a militant strike by cabbies got immediate results.

The strike in the north began on the 23rd of July over proposals to limit the length of operating rights, and continued at least until the 30th. Zhao Shiyuan, secretary general of Mudanjiang City Government, said the city government had to mobilize taxi drivers from neighboring cities to offer taxi services.

China shares border with Russia via Mudanjiang, a tourist city in Heilongjiang Province and more than 300 kilometers away from Harbin, the provincial capital. Mudanjiang City has 2.8 million permanent residents and has 2,705 taxis in service, most of which are privately run, said Zhao.

"Misinterpretation by the part of cabbies is the cause of the strike," claimed Zhao, who added the draft document was open to discussions and could be improved based on opinions aired by taxi drivers. Mayor Zhang Jingchuan has held dialogues with some of the drivers with the hope of bringing the drivers back to work.
Militant strike in the south
In the southeast, the strike was shorter, lasting only one day. More than 2 000 drivers joined the strike – about two thirds of the city’s cabs, and strikebreakers were attacked or had their windows smashed. The government immediately agreed to meet with taxi drivers and address their demands, one spokesman calling them “reasonable”.

According to police, some scab taxis were lured to suburban areas and then attacked. 2 000 police patrolled the streets, but only twelve people were arrested, of which eight were charged with attacking taxis or handing out leaflets.

Drivers, over 70 percent of whom are from the relatively poorer provinces of Anhui, Hubei, and Jiangsu, usually rent their cabs from private owners and agents. They were striking due to high rent costs, lack of fuel subsidy and the high level of other maintenance costs, which left many with only just enough money for food at the end of each day. They said they only earn up to 3,000 yuan or 440 U.S. dollars a month even if they work 12 hour days.

“With the hiking of gas prices and high rental fees, we’re just able to make ends meet if we're lucky; if not, we would go hungry,” a driver said.

Whether the government's six measures that appear to address the strikers’ main concerns will be implemented or were simply announced to end the strike, remains to be seen. Fees for waiting at the airport were immediately abolished.
The Voice of Taxi Drivers
The strike was apparently organised by the handing out of leaflets headed “The Voice of Taxi Drivers” at the airport, petrol stations and restaurants. Government officials have therefore blamed the strike on a small group “inciting” the strike.

This appears to be an attempt to go for a “middle way” in dealing with taxi strikes, both conceding to demands, or at least appearing to, and arresting those considered responsible.

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And here from the Straights Times is another report of a clash that happened yesterday between Chinese police and steelworkers. Sort of a step up from a strike.

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Cops clash with steel workers:
BEIJING - ARMED police in central China have clashed with steel workers who were holding an official hostage in a protest over privatisation plans, state media reported on Saturday.

The incident happened on Friday at the Linzhou Steel Corporation in Anyang city, Henan province, after four days of demonstrations, the China Daily said.

Officers tried repeatedly to break through the lines of the workers, who had been patrolling the gates since early this week, the paper said, without stating if the police succeeded.

The paper quoted unspecified reports as saying the workers were holding an official of the local State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. It gave the official's surname as Dong.

In a signal that authorities take the situation seriously, Chen Quanguo, a deputy governor of Henan, reached Anyang on Friday to address the workers' 'misgivings", a senior city official told China Daily.

The clashes adds to recent evidence showing that labour-related unrest may be escalating in China.

Last month, angry workers in north-east China killed a factory manager amid a protest over an unpopular takeover.

Linzhou Steel, a state-owned enterprise with 5,122 employees, was sold to a private firm last month for about 64 million yuan (S$13.4 million) without the workers' consent, the paper said.

Massive layoffs followed the takeover, with workers getting 1,090 yuan for each year of service they had put in, according to the paper.

It is not the first protest over the privatisation of the firm, the paper said, citing a situation in March when more than 1,000 workers tried to resist the plans by blocking the streets and shutting off the factory for days.

'I've been with Linzhou Steel for more than two decades and all I got was 20,000 yuan and a letter asking me to leave,' one of the workers said on the Tianya.cn web portal. -- AFP

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Then, of course, there is yet a further step up from fighting the police. The killing of a company manager by workers incensed over layoffs mentioned above is analyzed further in the following article from the China Labour Bulletin which has been struggling for workers' rights in China for many years now.

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China debates the lessons of Tonghua tragedy:
The death of Chen Guojun at the hands of angry workers at the Tonghua Steel works on 24 July prompted a flurry of comment and speculation in the domestic Chinese media. Many commentators suggested that Chen, a rising star in the privately owned Jianlong Group which was due to takeover Tonghua, had antagonized the workforce with his uncompromising and combative management style. Others cited sinister conspiracy theories involving former mangers and shady scrap-metal cartels in the city.

There was one issue however that everyone seemed to agree on; namely the need to better protect the rights and interests of workers during the process of state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform and privatization - the only question that remained was how. And in addressing this issue, several analysts focused their attention on the key role of the state-owned assets supervision and administration commission (SASAC), as well as the telling lack of an effective trade union presence at the steel plant.

The state-owned assets supervision and administration commission is the quasi-governmental body under the state council charged with protecting state assets such as SOEs, and maximizing their market value during transactions with private investors. In theory, SASAC is supposed to represent the overall interests of SOEs, including their employees, in practice however this rarely, if ever, happens. And in Tonghua’s case in particular, SASAC made no effort whatsoever to consult the workers or consider their interests when arranging the sale of 66 percent of the steel plant to one of China’s largest private companies. Many commentators roundly condemned SASAC’s paternalistic approach in arbitrarily deciding what was in the best interests of Tonghua’s workers without even consulting them.

Southern Weekend (南方周末) commentator Dai Zhiyong, noted on 29 July that even after postponing the takeover deal in the wake of Chen’s death, SASAC still:
"Firmly believes that Jianlong’s move to increase its stake in Tonghua Steel is the most beneficial course of development, one that coincides with the interests of the entire workforce. The truth is, up until now, they still don't understand that they are not a benevolent father, and that the workers are not children; the workers naturally will have a different opinion from the major stockholder and SASAC, as to what is advantageous for them. "

Jing Chuan, a lawyer at the Gaodong Law Firm in Beijing, told the China Daily:
"The provincial assets watchdog and related parties have made a huge mistake by not keeping the workers and their union representatives informed. If they had gone through the legal procedures and listened to opinions from the workers, there would not have been such a burst of anger when the staff found out. This tragedy was avoidable. "

The renowned social scientist, Yu Jianrong, pointed out however that it was virtually impossible for a body like SASAC to take the interests of all parties into account when managing the sale of state assets. Writing in the Southern Metropolis Daily (南方都市报), Yu said:
"In maximizing the interests of state assets, there is a conflict between protecting the interests of the enterprise and those of the workers. In theory, the correct way would be to find a balance between them. However, SASAC isn’t really equipped to perform this role... Neither does it have sufficient motivation or incentive to find that balance. As a result, ‘reducing employees to increase profit’ is not only seen as a convenient operating measure, it’s actually been elevated to the status of guiding thinking. This not only abandons the workers’ interests, it is simply not the right thing. "

Yu’s solution to this contradiction was to abandon the pretence that SASAC could represent everyone’s interests, and make it solely responsible for representing the interests of capital – the job that it effectively does already. Yu proposed that another body, with the same powers as SASAC, be established to represent the interests of labour. Interestingly, Yu did not suggest that the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) should perform this role. Perhaps he was all too well aware of the limitations and ineffectiveness of the union in representing workers’ interests in SOE restructuring.

As a 34-year-old Tonghua employee told the China Daily, even though he and most of his colleagues were union members; “I can’t remember the last time we had a conference with our union representative. The union certainly didn’t go any good the day Chen was killed.”

An elderly retiree at the plant told the newspaper that union consisted of just two people, a chairman and his assistant. “It is hard for two people to do a good job for thousands of workers,” he said. Tonghua Steel currently has about 13,000 staff on the payroll.

However, Dai Zhiyong argued that the trade union was the only realistic option for the workers, and as such there was an urgent need to revitalize that flagging institution.
"If the union is ineffective, other interest groups, including SASAC and the leadership of the enterprise, will naturally ‘lower transaction costs’ and exclude the nominal owners of the SOE from the negotiation and benefit-sharing process. The workers will be left with an either-or situation: either have their teeth knocked out and swallow the blood - to be resigned to their fate - or to take irrational measures in defense of their rights and interests.
The key to averting the radicalisation of capital-labour relations therefore is to address the source of the problem - for the union to stop operating amateurishly, merely collecting a few yuan in membership fees, and sending out letters and token gifts during the New Year and other holidays. "

Dai suggested that the Tonghua tragedy could be the catalyst needed to kick-start union reform in China:
"One possible starting point to avoiding tragedies like Tonghua in the future, and, in addition, to provide the space for both capital and labour to negotiate fairly and resolve their problems rationally, would be trade union reform. "

However, just as crucial as union reform is the need for managements to accept the union as an equal partner in negotiations, something the Jianlong Group, and Chen Guojun in particular, were seemingly unwilling to do. A detailed investigation into the Tonghua tragedy by China Newsweek (中国新闻周刊) published on 5 August described how Chen implemented a stringent new management system at Tonghua whilst deputy-general manager from 2005 to the beginning of 2009. It was a system reportedly based on that of Taiwan’s China Steel, and featured the strict separation of workers and management and the implementation of harsh fines and extravagant bonuses. Chen was a tough disciplinarian and reportedly introduced fines of between 100 yuan and 200 yuan for even minor infractions such as having a single button open on one’s uniform.

This strict new system stood in marked contrast to the more inclusive and egalitarian style of the previous SOE management. Indeed, one of the chief complaints of the workforce during Chen’s tenure as deputy-general manager was not so much that their wages decreased (which they did) but that gap between workers’ and managers’ salaries grew exponentially. Most workers earned around 36,000 yuan a year, while mid-ranking managers could earn around three times that amount, and Chen himself was reportedly paid three million yuan a year for his services, or more than 80 times the average worker’s salary.

A whole swath of workers over 50-years old, or with more than 30 year’s of service, were laid-off soon after Chen arrived in 2005, and so the news that he was to return to Tonghua as general manager, just a few months after Jianlong had pulled out because the plant was not making a profit, naturally sent alarm bells ringing.

On the morning of Friday 24 July, as news spread of Chen’s return, one of the workers laid off four years ago strung a banner across the entrance to the main office building saying “Jianlong get the Hell out of Tonghua Steel!” (建龙滚出通钢).

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-POLAND:

SYNDICALISTS HELP STRANDED WORKERS:

The following item is from the Polish Union of Syndicalists, the ZSP.

ILILILILILILILILIL

New Campaign: Was Your Flat a Work Camp?:‏
A group of Chinese workers is stranded in Warsaw after not being paid for construction work. The chain of legal responsibility is not 100% clear as each agent and subcontracting agent they dealt with are trying to pass on the responsibility for paying them. But in this tangled web, we mustn't forget the construction company which owns the building sites.

JW Construction is the largest residential developer in Poland. (It also has business abroad, for example in Russia.) Despite the financial crisis and a huge drop in the sale of flats, the company has record profits. This is partially because of policies of hiring cheaper and cheaper labour through subcontractors.

ZSP found that the Chinese stranded here worked on JW sites and, besides not getting paid, did not have proper safety equipment. JW, like all firms hiring subcontractors, will claim that it has no responsibility towards the people building on their sites, because ultimately this is the obligation of the subcontractor. But we do not agree that they have no responsibility. For this reason, we've decided not only to take action against the subcontractor, but to go directly to the main beneficent of the "work camp system" - the construction company JW.

JW has a rather checkered past: it has clear connections with members of the political elite and has used their influence to get lots of favours. A former Prime Minister is on the supervisory board of the company. In the past there were many problems with this firm; the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection even found that they had many illegal clauses in their consumer contracts and had cheated purchasers of flats. There have also been many complaints against the quality of their construction work.

We therefore decided on a campaign connected to this company. ZSP will be organizing pickets and leafleting at their sales points with the slogan "Was Your Flat a Work Camp?" It will partially be directed towards consumers, who, more than with the work conditions, will probably be concerned about whether these flats are even safe. It is one way to pressure the company. We will be demanding that they guarantee that all people working on their sites are paid, insured and receive all proper health and safety training and equipment.

We have little faith that anybody in the government will check this company. Furthermore, we believe the state is also a guilty party since they did everything to make it easier for firms to hire workers from around the world, but do absolutely nothing to ensure that they are not exploited in Poland.

The law also allows foreign companies to "delegate" workers to Poland, meaning that a Polish company can pay a foreign one and then claim they had absolutely nothing to do with whether or not that person was paid. In the most scandalous instance of abuse of such anti-worker laws, the government of North Korea contracted out slave labour to Polish companies.The state is perfectly aware of the fact that Chinese workers sent to JW Construction sites were not being paid; many had left or were kicked out of work there (for demanding their pay) and some groups of them were eventually deported. Yet nothing is done to ensure that their capitalist cronies at JW use paid labour at the sites.We will demand changes in the law regarding foreign workers and demand that the Work Inspectorate check that such workers are actually paid - but we do not count on these institutions which serve the capitalists. Therefore we will try to at least make pressure through direct action.More to follow.

Background on the situation of the workers: http://cia.bzzz.net/chinese_workers_face_deportation_from_poland

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS-CHINA:

AMNESTY CONDEMNS CHINESE CRACKDOWN IN XINJIANG:

The following statement from the Philippine branch of Amnesty International was recently published at the Manila Indymedia site.

HRHRHRHRHRHRHR

China: Fair and impartial investigation must be launched in Urumqi:
Date: 6 July 2009
By Amnesty International
Amnesty International today called on the authorities in Urumqi to immediately launch an independent and impartial investigation into reports that 140 people were killed when a protest turned violent late on Sunday.

"The Chinese authorities must fully account for all those who died and have been detained. Those who were detained solely for peacefully expressing their views and exercising their freedom of expression, association and assembly must be released immediately. A fair and thorough investigation must be launched resulting in fair trials that are in accordance with international standards without recourse to the death penalty”, said Roseann Rife, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director Asia-Pacific.

“There has been a tragic loss of life and it is essential that an urgent independent investigation takes place to bring all those responsible for the deaths to justice”, said Roseann Rife. “Violence and abuses from either the authorities or protestors is in no way justified.”

Amnesty International urged the authorities to respect their obligations under domestic and international law which protect peaceful freedom of expression and assembly, prohibit arbitrary arrest and torture or ill-treatment in custody. The organization also called on the authorities to allow free access for domestic and foreign journalists and independent observers to report on the incident.

Xinhua, an official state news agency, reported that police in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and home to over 8 million Uighurs, have arrested several hundred participants, including more than ten key figures that were accused of instigating the unrest, and are still searching for approximately 90 more.

The protests are reported to have begun with non-violent demonstrations against government inaction after a violent riot at a factory in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, resulted in two deaths. On 26 June, hundreds of Uighur workers clashed with thousands of Han Chinese workers at a factory where Uighurs had been recruited from the XUAR. Police have reportedly detained the man, a laid-off employee from the same factory, who circulated rumours which provoked the deadly clash. The official response to the violence in Guangdong was to impose an information black-out on the incident, with websites and online discussion boards instructed to delete posts related to the clash.

Beyond responding to the immediate outbreak of violence, authorities need to address issues that have given rise to tensions. Since the 1980s, the Uighurs have been the target of systematic and extensive human rights violations. These include arbitrary detention and imprisonment, incommunicado detention, and serious restrictions on religious freedom as well as cultural and social rights.

Chinese government policies, including those that limit use of the Uighur language, severe restrictions on freedom of religion, and a sustained influx of Han Chinese migrants into the region, are destroying customs and, together with employment discrimination, fuelling discontent and ethnic tensions. The Chinese government has mounted an aggressive campaign that has led to the arrest and arbitrary detention of thousands of Uighurs on charges of “terrorism, separatism and religious extremism” for peacefully exercising their human rights. http://www.amnesty.org.ph/

HRHRHRHRHRHRHR

Molly Notes:

This sort of thing, racist and xenophobic violence , as well as heavy handed government repression, is, of course, an all too familiar story. The sad thing is that such feelings of nationalism-on both sides- are an eternal guarantee that a free and egalitarian society is still very far away. All of the "national liberation" movements of the last century, and there were dozens and dozens of them, utterly failed in building a free society of equals. When something has been tried close to 100 times and it never works, one should consider the possibility that it simply cannot work.

As I have expressed earlier on this blog the decades of communist propaganda in countries such as China and the ex-Soviet bloc demonstrably failed to raise a generation which wasn't ready to go at each others' throats over atavistic ethnic identifications. Such "socialist paradises" were, of course, somewhat different in practice than they were in either rhetoric or in the glowing descriptions of them by their leftist sympathizers elsewhere in the world. Never forget that while idiotic leftists in North America and Europe were trumpeting the virtues of Maoism some decades ago the repression against ethnic minorities in China was at least 10 times worse than it is today. The fact that the propaganda of the Marxist regimes was at such variance with the reality of their rule was probably a factor in the inability of their propaganda to "take hold". The same can be seen today in countries such as Venezuela where the quasi-Marxist ruling class trumpets things such as "self-management" while doing its best to sabotage many efforts at same, while, at the same time, allowing corrupt plunder of state revenues on the part of its friends, known in that country as the 'Boli-Bourgeoise'. In the inevitable end the "hangover" will destroy the possibility for any sort of socialism, libertarian or otherwise, in that country for many years.

There is little doubt that the Chinese state is the major offender in the events in their western provinces, just as they were the major offender in Tibet. That recognition, however, shouldn't blind an objective observer from seeing that 1)the pre-communist state in such areas was no paradise either, and that in some ways it was worse than what exists today and 2)any state built by the ethnic minorities should they achieve the almost hopeless goal of succession will probably be no paradise either and may also be worse than what exists there today. Worse from the point of view of everyone besides the ambitious new ruling class of the right ethnicity who would rise to power in such a situation.

The history of the last century has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that the idea that a group that is temporarily on the losing side (known as "oppression" in leftist parlance) has absolutely no claim to be morally superior to their temporary oppressors. When the tables are turned the new ruling class raised by "liberations" doesn't just turn the tables on the old enemy. Often they unite in solid bonds with the old "oppressors" when they begin to oppress yet others in their turn. The idea of the moral superiority of the 'losers' is a common myth, held in place by nothing but emotion and virulent intolerance of dissent amongst the left- especially the American left.

Events such as those in Xinjiang, however, should not evoke a "pox on all their houses" attitude. There is a way to oppose the power of a ruling class without demanding a belief in myth- a myth that merely reinforces the probability of the recurrence of such events in the future with different actors. Organizations such as Amnesty tread this line very well. What they try to do is propagandize for "rules" that ruling classes will have to obey because of public opinion.

Is this unrealistic ? I'm not 100% convinced one way or the other. What I do know beyond the shadow of a doubt is that it is far more realistic than opting to follow some party of "revolutionaries" who say they won't repeat the errors of the past because "they are the good guys". THAT is unrealistic almost to the point of insanity.

My own opinion, for what it is worth.... I hate to sound like a Marxist here, but I do tend to agree with a certain lazy, mooching, nasty, over-rated, conspiratorial old German philosopher here when he said that no mode of production (and class rule) passes away until it has exhausted all the possibilities of its development. Modify that in that I a)think the word "probably" should be put in front of "never",b)have totally different reasons for believing this than the pathetic philosophical fashion of one country for a short period of time and c) the completion of a historical "mission" certainly means more than the production of more widgets and pet rocks.

I tend to see the state socialist experiments (and their fascist mirrors) as inferior examples of the transition from capitalism to managerial society. I think that the managerial societies that have been evolved in North America, Europe and parts of east Asia are far more advanced in solving the problems of "oppression" that bedevil the left today. I think that the internal dynamics of developed managerial societies, given their essential meritocratic basis, are capable of either "solving" such questions of oppression or totally defanging them by offering opportunities for the most intelligent and energetic of the "oppressed" to enter the ruling class, thereby depriving the oppressed of their natural leaders. How close this will approximate to a real solution depends, of course, on the particular oppression in question.

I call this "completing the managerial revolution" in the same sense as socialists used to argue for support for "bourgeois democratic demands", as they called them before the Leninist purgatory of dictatorship. Thus I see nothing wrong, and everything right, about supporting demands for such things as "ethnic rights/national liberation" as long as it is bound by enough rules to inhibit any new ruling class from behaving just as it so will. The accumulation of such "rules" is an essential trend of modern managerialism, and, just as "bourgeois democracy" was a great gain for the working classes in earlier times, The historical gains of such struggles are worthwhile struggling for whether or not they lead directly to some sort of socialism.

The whole matter of "oppressions" is a source of endless agony for leftists, anarchist or otherwise. Some try to deny their importance entirely. Some try to desperately concoct some sort of ideological fantasy of ultimate interconnection of such things and a equally fantastic vision of a "movement" that is an alliance of all such things. This often runs aground when the group interests of one oppressed sector run counter to that of another. Be around the left long enough and you'll be able to find multiple examples of such, and they all add to the cacophony that passes for theory amongst leftists. Then there is the "ideological parrot" response that tags onto everything that "it will only be solved with the overthrow of the capitalist patriarchal state. I beg to differ. I would say that the "solution" of such problems is a still distant requirement for socialism and not a consequence of some mystical movement to socialism/anarchism. At least in the USA, and to a lesser degree in other countries-depending on how much they are influenced by American leftism- , this is compounded by what can only be described as a love of guilt. I can hardly object to the weird personal psychology of medieval flagellants or some Shiites today of whipping themselves or the example of Opus Dei with their "self-torture undergarments" on anything but aesthetic grounds, but I am absolutely convinced that it ain't politics.

Honest to Lord Jesus (or whatever your choice of poison is) you can indeed object to the actions of a foreign government against minority ethnic groups without going the whole pig and engaging in some fantasy of "solidarity" that covers up the sins and possible sins of the side you have chosen as the "good guys". Can I raise my tiny little voice to say that I have yet to see any examples in my lifetime where opponents were easily divided into good guys and bad guys. Maybe before I was born, but not since the Second World War.

TO SUM UP:

1)History has shown that "national liberation" is a deadly card to play, with the consequences often worse than the previous domination.

2)This doesn't mean that oppression of any sort should not be protested, but rather that the nature of the protests should be to put as many restraints of the exercise of power rather than mindlessly parroting the aspirations of new rulers who inevitably want to come to power using the emotions of "the oppressed"

3)This means that one can protest and try to modify the actions of power holders without acting like you support the other side totally and without ignoring their faults- however unpopular this may be amongst those who often gravitate to such campaigns.

4)There are parallels between "national liberation" and other struggles against "oppression".

5)The struggle against various "oppressions" is not only possible of resolution via some sort of "revolution" but is rather the struggle for the improvement of our present system of class rule ,such that the transition to a socialist/anarchist society is both possible and easier. These "liberations" precede rather than follow the struggle for a fully egalitarian and free society. They are important for the eventual goal as the laying of a good foundation is for building a good house.

Boy, I've been long winded on this one.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-CHINA:

CHINESE LABOUR ACTIVIST RELEASED:

The following news item comes from the International Trade Union Confederation via the online labour solidarity site Labour Start.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
China: Yao Fuxin Released:
Brussels, 18 March 2009:

The ITUC, together with the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), welcomes the release of Mr. Yao Fuxin, a labour activist from Liaoning province, after serving his seven years’ prison term on conviction of “subversion of State power”.

On March 16, 2009, Mr. Yao Fuxin was released from Lingyuan n°2 Prison, Liaoning province, considered as one of the harshest prisons in China and where most detainees are political prisoners.

Before his detention, Mr. Yao was one of China’s most outspoken labour activists. In 1998, he joined others to petition the central government against corruption at the Liaoyang Ferro-Alloy Factory. In May 2001, the factory’s workers alleged that the robbery of 2,000 tons of iron ore at the factory had been led by local court officials and that the subsequent bankruptcy of the factory had been orchestrated by the factory’s leaders in collusion with the local government. Mr. Yao and other workers had demanded a full investigation that was never conducted.

In March 2002, Mr. Yao, then spokesperson of the newly founded All-Liaoyang Bankrupt and Unemployed Workers’ Provisional Union, was arrested along with Mr. Xiao Yunliang (who was released in February 2006, three weeks before completing his four-year prison sentence) for having led a peaceful demonstration against corruption and the non-payment of overdue wages and pensions – a demonstration that gathered at least 5,000 workers from six factories in Liaoyang (Liaoning province). According to Human Rights in China (HRIC), Mr. Yao was initially charged with “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order” and then sentenced in May 2003 to seven years in prison for “subversion of State power” for alleged involvement in the banned China Democracy Party.

“We welcome the release of Mr. Yao, but we regret that such release occurred following the completion of his seven years’ prison term, and came along with a period of three years of deprivation of political rights, including freedoms of speech, assembly, and association. We further urge the Chinese authorities to release immediately - and without conditions - all human rights defenders in the PRC currently deprived of liberty because of their human rights activities. Such detentions are arbitrary, and contrary to the 1998 United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,” said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President.

“It is also important to point out that throughout Mr. Yao’s detention, the latter was held in precarious conditions, sustained serious acts of ill-treatment and witnessed a deterioration of his health status. We recall that torture and ill-treatment constitute a violation of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which China is a State party and which triggers individual criminal responsibility. Accordingly, we urge the Chinese authorities to take meaningful action to prevent and punish the use of torture so as to conform with China’s international human rights obligations,” added Eric Sottas, OMCT Secretary General.

Throughout his detention, Mr. Yao sustained two heart attacks and a stroke, and suffered from malnutrition and from cold in winter. Mr. Yao was also obliged to sleep with 19 other inmates on one bed, and was watched by a guard who ordered two death-row prisoners to step on him every time he was about to sleep.

“We welcome the release of Yao Fuxin,” said Guy Ryder, ITUC General Secretary, “but at the same time we have to bear in mind that many other labour rights activists remain in detention in China, often in appalling conditions. The fundamental rights of Chinese workers to freedom of association and collective bargaining are still being denied by the authorities, and we call upon them to respect these rights, enshrined in ILO Conventions, in full."

The ITUC and the Observatory urge the Chinese authorities to release all human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in the People’s Republic of China, to put an immediate end to any kind of harassment against them, and to investigate all cases of torture or ill-treatment so that those responsible can be brought to justice and sanctioned according to law.

For further information, please contact: FIDH: Gael Grilhot / Karine Appy, + 33 1 43 55 25 18 OMCT: Delphine Reculeau, + 41 22 809 49 39 ITUC: Mathieu Debroux, +32 2 224 02 04
Photo: Erutan
The ITUC represents 170 million workers in 312 affiliated national organisations from 157 countries.

http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI
For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on: +32 2 224 0204 or +32 476 621 018

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-CHINA/中国无政府主义:

A-INFOS IN CHINESE:

Good news here. The best of the international news services, A-Infos, has now added Chinese to its extensive list of languages. The announcement follows below. The last Molly looked the A-Infos people were still ironing out the kinks, but most everything seems to be operating well now. Despite the fact that "Chinese" is more a group of mutually unintelligible languages they all posses the same writing system, and thus one doesn't have to worry about which language/dialect one uses. I assume that the A-Infos people will be using the "simplified script" (like the piece in the title above) which stands for "Chinese anarchism". To say the least this is important. Anarchism actually has an honourable historical pedigree in China (see the Anarchist Archives), and has reappeared time and again during the years of Communist tyranny. Nowadays, when anarchism is essentially becoming the international ultra-left it is important to have the movement presented in as many languages as possible- especially the language of 20% of the world. many congratulations to the A-Infos people.

........................

Anouncement of the Chinese language to the Ainfos project:

Ainfos collective is proud to announce the new addition to our project.

The a-infos-cn@ainfos.ca was started with the on-line archive at http://ainfos.ca/cn

To subscribe visit:

http://ainfos.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-cn

OR

send a post to a-infos-cn-subscribe@ainfos.ca

Send a post to list@ainfos.ca with the subject:

Subscribe a-infos-cn@ainfos.ca

To contribute posts send the plain text (No attachments and no HTML) to a-infos-cn@ainfos.ca

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-CHINA:

FAIR TRIAL IN SHENZHEN LONGGANG:



The following appeal is from the Clean Clothes Campaign. It concerns an ongoing trial of five suspects in an attack on the Dagongzhe Migrant Workers Centre in Shenzhen China. The concern is that the guilty parties will be exonerated despite the evidence. Read the following and respond if you can.
................................
Serious Doubts about Fairness Trial in Attack on Chinese Worker Advocate:
Please call on the Chinese authorities to ensure that justice is served Migrant Worker Centre



On January 16, 2009, the hearing of five suspects in the Huang Qingnan case took place before the Shenzhen Longgang District People’s Court. This trial followed upon the November 2007 attack on Huang Qingnan of the Dagongzhe (DGZ) Migrant Worker Centre* in Shenzhen in China (see also the previous CCC postings on this case). Huang Qingnan was seriously injured after being stabbed by two unidentified men. The court has yet to issue its decision, but the procedures followed thus far raise serious doubts about the fairness of the trial.





The court agreed in December 2008 that the courtroom should be fit to accommodate national and international observers, and to observe the requirements of an open public trial. However, entrance was refused to over 60 supporters, including Chinese workers, both domestic and foreign group representatives and journalists. Contrary to the law, the trial was delayed for a long time, and the (oral) notice of the court’s hearing on January 16 was delivered only three days in advance. The court furthermore insisted on a bodily security inspection of Huang Qingnan and his lawyer, which is a violation of the Highest People Court regulation on security inspections, but did not wait for Huang Qingnan’s presence in the courtroom before starting the hearing.





Equally concerning is the lack of proper investigation into the background and motives of the defendants. One of them has been identified as a local businessman who owns several local factories. However, during the trial no reference was made to the business interests that might have motivated the crime, or to the possibility that the defendants committed the crime under instructions from others. Likewise, the court ignored the question whether the crimes could be connected to the practice of collecting protection fees by local gangs. Finally, the court decided to disregard the assessment by the Shenzhen City Inspection Office and Police Department at the beginning of 2008 that Huang’s injuries were “a 6th degree disability and serious injury”. Instead the court accepted an assessment made in December 2008 by the Shenzhen City Judicial Department, that concluded that the injuries are of a lesser degree. According to Huang’s lawyer, the Judicial Department is an advisory body only, and therefore its assessments have no legal value in court.





This critically important trial should have given a clear warning that worker rights defenders’ safety are protected under the Chinese law. Instead, the proceedings in this trial seriously raise questions about the fairness of the court. On January 15, 2009, we called upon you to write to the Chinese authorities to ensure that a fair and open trial would take place. We now again ask you to send your letter to the Chinese authorities to continue the international pressure, and insist that the Shenzhen and central governments:

1)Guarantee that district courts respect national laws, and protect the
principles of fair and public trials;
2)Investigate the Longgang District
Court’s violations of national law with regard to the “instructions from
superiors” that denied observers entry to the court and allowed for the bodily
search of the plaintiff and his lawyer;
3)Openly condemn the Longgang
District Court’s efforts to obstruct justice including the depriving of
citizens’ right to observe public trials and groundless security inspections;
4)Ensure that national laws and international standards to protect workers
and workers' advocates safety are implemented.

* The DGZ Centre provides a free library, labour law education and free legal consultation to the many migrant workers in Shenzhen. The attacks appear to have been an effort to prevent the Centre from empowering migrant workers and educating them about China's new Labour Contract Law, which went into effect in 2008.
............................
Your action is urgently needed. Please call on the Chinese authorities to ensure that justice is served
SAMPLE LETTER
Use this form to send the following letter directly to:

*Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court
szcourt@szcourt.gov.cn
*Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European Communities
The Honourable H. E. Mr. Song Zhe
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Head of the Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European
Communities
chinamission_eu@mfa.gov.cn
*Mr. Xu Zhong Heng
Mayor of Shenzhen City
xuzh@sz.gov.cn
*Mr. Liu Yu Pu
Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee
liuyp@sz.gov.cn

.................................

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter:

...................................

Dear Sirs:
I am writing to express my grave concern about the case involving Huang Qingnan of the Dagongzhe (DGZ) Migrant Worker Centre in Shenzhen. In the fall of 2007, several attacks took place on the DGZ Centre and its staff and on November 20, 2007 staff member Huang Qingnan was seriously injured after being stabbed by two unidentified men. He suffered wounds - some more than 10 centimetres long - in his back, waist, and left leg. The muscle, bones, blood vessels, and nerves in his leg were cut apart, resulting in permanent disability to his left leg.





The Dagongzhe Migrant Worker Centre is a valuable resource, providing a free library, labour law education and free legal consultation to migrant workers. It has been involved in raising awareness of the new Labour Contract Law, which affords better employment protection for workers.





On January 16, 2009, the case was tried before the Longgang District Peoples' Court. I am shocked to learn that at the trial basic rights under the Chinese law have been violated, and that no proper investigation of the defendant's background and motives has been presented to the court.





The Chinese government must protect civil society organisations and staff members from violence. Fair resolution of this case is important to maintaining harmonious labour relations and to improving the protection of civil groups and their staff in order to prevent violence and maintain public security.





I therefore call upon you to:

1)Guarantee that district courts respect national laws, and protect the
principles of fair and public trials;
2)Investigate the Longgang District
Court's violations of national law with regard to the "instructions from
superiors" that denied observers entry to the court and allowed for the bodily
search of the plaintiff and his lawyer;
3)Openly condemn the Longgang
District Court's insidious efforts to obstruct justice including the depriving
of citizens' right to observe public trials and groundless security inspections;
4)Ensure that national laws and international standards to protect workers
and workers' advocates safety are implemented.

Sincerely,