(Broadcast on November 9, 2002)

The 16th CCP Congress has entered its second day, and it is predicted that the CCP would no longer be a working class’s party after the Congress. But some people believe that unless the CCP changes its name, it would still have to claim that it is a party of the Chinese working class. Thus, in formulating its policies, it must consider the interest of the Chinese working class. What do the Chinese workers think on this issue? I have talked with a retrenched worker from Liaoyang Carton Factory about this issue.

Han Dongfang [Han]:

Would you please tell me if you have any retrenched and laid-off workers in your family?

Worker:

Yes, we do.

Han:

From which work unit?

Worker:

Hmm… from the Carton Factory.

Han:

How’s your life now?

Worker:

Okay.

Han:

Not too bad?

Worker:

Still no need to beg for my bread! (laugh)

Han:

Why did you say so?

Worker:

Why? Try to add up. There isn’t too much left for living expenses after the lay-off.

Han:

You are a retrenched worker from the Carton Factory, right?

Worker:

Yep.

Han:

How much compensation did you get for one year of working life?

Worker:

More than 300 yuan.

Han:

More than 300 yuan?

Worker:

Yeah.

Han:

How long did you work for the Factory?

Worker:

28 years. Altogether more than 10, 000 yuan.

Han:

More than 10,000 yuan?

Worker:

Yep.

Han:

Have you applied for any unemployment allowance after the retrenchment?

Worker:

Now…it is not possible.

Han:

Aren’t you a retrenched worker? Isn’t that unemployed?

Worker:

Yes.

Han:

Shouldn’t the unemployed get the unemployment allowance?

Worker:

There is unemployment allowance for a period of two years – two years’ living allowance. And this involves the Labour Bureau [Bureau of Labour and Social Security].

Han:

Then have you got it?

Worker:

The factory hasn’t proceeded yet.

Han:

Hasn’t proceeded yet?

Worker:

It hasn’t proceeded yet!

Han:

That’s why you can’t get the money?

Worker:

I can’t get it right now. I can’t even pay for my life insurance.

Han:

Nowhere to pay?

Worker:

Nowhere! As the Carton Factory still owes the insurance company money, even we go to that company to pay for the charges, the company refuses to accept them.

Han:

Do you mean the pensions?

Worker:

Yes, it is.

Han:

What can you do then?

Worker:

Now we can only wait and see if the Carton Factory can work out the problem.

Han:

The workers in the Carton Factory are just waiting?

Worker:

That’s it. Wait and see.

Han:

Have you heard of the demonstration of Ferroalloy Factory workers?

Worker:

Yes, I heard of it.

Han:

They don’t just wait and see but make a protest.

Worker:

Hmm.

Han:

What do you think about such an action?

Worker:

My view on the worker’s action is this: those workers from the Ferroalloy Factory have made a complaint directly to the city party committee about the unfair situation, and they have marched in protest to urge the party committee to deal with them. But for the Carton Factory workers, whether laid off, retired or retrenched, damn it, we don’t have the courage, and we don’t have a clue about it.

Han:

Do you know that they protested again in these two days?

Worker:

Yes, they did it again. I heard of it. They protested again, and it seems they have made four demands.

Han:

Which four demands?

Worker:

I’m not so sure about this in detail. I haven’t really chatted with them.

Han:

In your opinion, which one is better, just “wait and see” or “make a protest”?

Worker:

What do I think about this? Now, no matter what the country does… to put it simply, China is still under the rule of the Communist Party. The Communist Party would not allow the people to suffer, I think. At least they still think about the laid off workers.

Han:

In your case, do you think that they still think about you?

Worker:

Hmmm… I think so.

Han:

Do they?

Worker:

Yep, they do.

Han:

Do you have confidence in the Party now?

Worker:

I do have confidence in the Party. But under the current situation and the present development of the country, I think the party leadership hasn’t forgotten the common people, and they still care about old workers like us who have contributed themselves to the Communist Party.

Han:

As a worker, what do you expect from the 16th Congress?

Worker:

What do I expect … I expect that at the 16th Congress…Well, for those laid-off and jobless workers, the government will do something for them. After all, these common people… are people of the Communist Party. We shouldn’t let them worry about every single meal, just like my case. This is what I think.

Han:

Do you have to worry about every single meal now?

Worker:

Not now. But I’m afraid this won’t last long. We’re almost there basically.

Han:

Say, in your case, how much longer can you hold on?

Worker:

Me? A year or so, I guess.

Han:

A year or so?

Worker:

Yes, a year or so.

Han:

Do you think that the party can work out the problem in a year or so?

Worker:

I think they can. Why? Now it’s been more than one year. We have been out of job for almost three years. I am thinking …like others …whether–something would be worked out at the Congress to solve the problems of poor families and , employment of laid-off workers and jobless workers. The government will think about these too.

Han:

That means, considering their own interest, the Communist Party must solve this problem.

Worker:

Right. But what do the common people detest most? Corruption – a problem that the government doesn’t deal with. The party talks about fighting corruption, but we don’t see any concrete action. People aren’t happy with this.

Han:

Could we say in this way, that the direct cause of your hardships is corruption?

Worker:

Yes. Yes.

Han:

How relevant is corruption to your current hardship?

Worker:

Closely related. The corrupt officials are those in power without making any contribution – they don’t really care about commoners’ difficulties.

Han:

What kinds of people are you talking about?

Worker:

Those senior officials and their subordinates in the city government. These officials are all the same.

Han:

All the same?

Worker:

Basically the same.

Han:

If this is the case, the whole Communist Party should replace all their officials?

Worker:

Not all of them. But something like 70%.

Han:

70% of the officials should be replaced! Wouldn’t it be a big political shake-up?

Worker:

Yep, basically.

Han:

As a worker, what would you say if you had the chance to talk to the party delegates and leaders, or with the heads of the government?

Worker:

I would tell them what I think – I the Communist Party will do a better job. I don’t have any concrete ideas right now. The party has come to this age – I’m now 53, not as old as the party. What should I say?

Han:

Like something related to your life.

Worker:

Things related to me?

Han:

Right.

Worker:

People like us, in our fifties, having worked for the party for 20 to 30 years. Has the party forgotten us and thrown us aside? And how about my children? Do the government and the Party know that they have nowhere to turn to? Now they have lost their self-confidence.

Han:

How many children do you have?

Worker:

Just one. We support the call of the party: ’One couple, one child.

Han:

How old is your kid now?

Worker:

27 years old now.

Han:

Working?

Worker:

How is it possible? My child went to the technical school, and graduated there. The factories here have folded, and the technical school didn’t allocate work to him. So he was stranded, jobless.

Han:

How long has this been?

Worker:

Ahh…this year… more than six years.

Han:

Boy or girl?

Worker:

Boy.

Han:

Is he married?

Worker:

He’s got married.

Han:

Any kids in his family?

Worker:

No kids right now. He can’t even support his own living. How can he have kids?

Han:

Does your daughter-in-law work?

Worker:

She doesn’t have a job either.

Han:

No jobs for both of them?

Worker:

No.

Han:

Who do they rely on these days?

Worker:

Who can they rely on? This… (laugh) I still have some savings, and my son sometimes gets some temporary jobs.

Han:

Is it easy to get this kind of jobs?

Worker:

Now it is not… not so easy. In our place there are lots of recruitment notices, but many are just traps. You go there to work for several days, and the boss would then look for some excuses to fire you – and they wouldn’t pay you.

Han:

In private enterprises?

Worker:

Yes, private enterprises. Nowadays, where could we find state enterprises? Are there any real state enterprises? They are all gone.

Han:

One more question. Are you a party member?

Worker:

No, I’m not.

Han:

If not, why did you say that you’ve worked for the party for so many years?

Worker:

I did. I think all my work is for the party.

Han:

Why?

Worker:

Why? It is because our state - it can be seen in the televisions and newspapers – the founding of New China is not easy. That’s to say, everything we do, we do it for the Communist Party.

Han:

Shouldn’t it be working for the enterprises, and earning money for oneself?

Worker:

No, you are wrong. I think that it is for the sake of building our state, and for the sake of our next generation.

Han:

But that is to earn a living; the enterprises pay the salary, and these enterprises belong to the state.

Worker:

Right.

Han:

Then how come …

Worker:

The state is led by the Communist Party!

Han:

The state is led by the party – but this doesn’t mean that it belongs to the party.

Worker:

This… I’m surprised with what you said. As I am a state employee, a state worker, my life belongs to the Communist Party.

Han:

Then that belongs to the state, not to the party.

Worker:

But the state is led by the Communist Party.

Han:

In this case, now that the state owes much to the workers and to you, and all these are also what party owes you.

Worker:

Yes. But I also think this way: probably the Communist Party doesn’t think the problem through. So under the open-door policy of General Secretary Jiang Zemin, the helm of the third generation leadership, and Deng Xiaoping, it aims at vitalizing the [economy] and improve people’s livelihood. But it seems to me that now… people don’t have a better living.

Han:

Just now you said that it is the party that owes you and other workers. In this way, if one day the party is replaced by another party, who should you look for to pay back the debt?

Worker:

This… as the saying goes, “the dead doesn’t pay debts”. Who else can you really look for?

Han:

So if there is a new party, a new ruling party, then at that time the state will owe you nothing?

Worker:

Even there is a debt, no debtor can be found! “The dead doesn’t pay debts”, then who else can you get on? I have to think of some other way out then.

Han:

So wouldn’t it be better to workers if the state, instead of the party, is held responsible for the debt?

Worker:

Ah…. I really haven’t thought about it so much.

Han:

Haven’t thought about this?

Worker:

Ah…I think now…unless…as you said, unless there’s another ruling party, like in Taiwan. This party and that party, something like a democratic party or a ruling party… But under the current situation, we’re now dependent on the Communist Party, and we are working for the party. At this moment it’s difficult to answer your question. We are indeed following the party.

Han:

Just hope that there’s going to be a chance for an upswing of the working class, and a chance to live a better life.

Worker:

I think we will. I still believe in this. Things can’t be always like this.