PSB seizes workers at night; Plain-clothes police keep workers’ families under close watch; Tieshu struggle is getting tense

[Broadcast on 21 March 2003]

Starting from 12 March, the retired workers from the Tieshu Textile Group, Hubei Province, have been blocking the entrance of the factory for two weeks. Some workers from the Tieshu Group told us that because some of the workers demands relate to officials in the city and provincial government, they believe the Suizhou City Public Security Bureau ([PSB] has begun to catch the leaders of the workers. The following conversation is with a retired worker from the Tieshu Group and is about how plain-clothes policemen arrested the workers:

Retired Worker:

They are now taking revenge on us, a few days ago some plain clothes PSB went to their homes at night, and took them away.

Han:

They are now arresting people?

Retired Worker:

Yes, arrests! They arrest people at night; otherwise it would arouse the workers at daytime. Now they catch people at night.

Han:

And how many people have been caught?

Retired Worker:

Oh, I don’t know. They… a few days ago, they arrested a man, who is good at writing. He is also articulate, and he wrote several slogans… like “Protest Against Corruption”, and strung banners saying “Out with the Woodworm” at the textile factory. He is in trouble after writing these things.

Han:

Are they are written by this person?

Retired Worker:

Yes! Yes!

Han:

Is he a retired worker [from Tieshu]?

Retired Worker:

He’s retired. He… it seems… belongs to the trade Union. I don’t know much…it seems that he had been a cadre before, and that he is good at speaking and writing.

Han:

Well, do you know his name?

Retired Worker:

I’m…. I’m not so sure. I just heard it from other old workers. Now, nobody on the street would tell you anything in an explicit way…people are terrified of the plain-clothes police. The Communist Party is just like this – it never dares say something concrete.

Han:

Have they released the detainee?

Retired Worker:

I don’t know. Anyway, he was caught at night, and we don’t know what’s going to happen… now we can’t see him, and we don’t know how things are going on. Now nobody dares to tell you anything.

Another retired worker who spoke to CLB told us that there are plain-clothes police everywhere in the housing estates to watch the workers.

Retired worker:

Oh… day after day, everyday! Everyday the PSB sends people to our district, watching us carefully.

Han:

Oh, many PSB officers go to your district everyday?

Retired Worker:

Right!

Han:

What for?

Retired Worker:

Well… They are afraid of workers’ protest.

Han:

Afraid of workers’ protest?

Retired Worker:

Definitely!

Han:

Are they in uniforms, or in plain-clothes?

Retired Worker:

Plain-clothes.

Han:

How can you tell they are PSB officers?

Retired Worker:

Ha-ha… We made them out at once!

Han:

You can make them all out?

Retired Worker:

Yeah, we can make them out.

Han:

And they wander around everyday….

Retired Worker:

Right!

Another cadre from the Tieshu Group confirmed with us that the PSB have just stepped in. He also said that since the retired workers have been blocking the entrances everyday, production at the factory has been terminated for many days now, and the factory simply says that all staff are on holiday.

Cadre:

Now it’s just the same.

Han:

What do you mean by just the same?

Cadre:

As what happened before, it is now just the same.

Han:

They are still blocking the entrance?

Cadre:

Basically it is like what you said. That’s the case.

Han:

Didn’t people say that the workers have stopped blocking the factory entrance?

Cadre:

Still the same.

Han:

Now are there people outside the entrance?

Cadre:

Yes.

Han:

Lots of them?

Cadre:

Not too many, and not too less.

Han:

They go there every day?

Cadre:

Right.

Han:

Did they [the factory] say that the factory staff are on holiday?

Cadre:

Right.

Han:

What makes it a holiday?

Cadre:

The staff can’t get in. Then let them take a holiday! This is hard to talk about things like this. This case… in this case I can’t tell you for sure. Anyway, the PSB have just stepped in. I can’t tell you over the phone. Do you know what I mean?

CLB made another call to the housing estate of the Tieshu Group. A family member of the staff told me about the role of the PSB in the case over the phone.

Han:

Do you have any retired staff in your family?

Family member:

Yes, we have. What’s up?

Han:

Which member of your family is retired?

Family member:

Well… this is not your business!

Han:

I just want to know something about our retired staff, like their welfare…

Family member:

Very bad! Very bad!

Han:

Why?

Family member:

How to put it? Oh…it’s very bad anyway… everything’s bad! Not just my family.

Han:

Which unit are you retired from?

Family member:

What are you doing now?! I don’t know; I don’t know whether you are calling from the police station or from the PSB. Recently these “dogs” (policeman) are biting people everywhere… that’s why I’m scared! So…. Don’t call us again – we are all frightened of the “dogs”.

Han:

You said… can you tell me how they “bite” people?

Family member:

They threaten people everywhere.

Han:

In what ways?

Family member:

You can find out yourself. Oh! Our family is frightened – we try our best to hide away! That’s it. Bye-bye!