Yang Ming

12 March 2002

(The following is China Labour Bulletin's transcript of the report and has not been checked by the original reporter.)

[Editor’s Note: Following the demonstrations by laid-off workers in Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province on Monday, ten to over twenty thousand laid-off workers protested and petitioned again on Tuesday morning in front of Liaoyang City Government. They demanded a solution to the problems of laid-off workers’ livelihood. Since a great number of large state-owned factories are already bankrupt or are on the point of bankruptcy in Liaoyang, there is a growing dissatisfaction among workers. They are extremely angry about the factory managers’ corruption and the government departments’ indifference towards the problems of workers’ basic livelihood. Voice of America journalist Yang Ming sent his latest report from Hong Kong:]

(Voices chanting slogans:

Leader: Workers want to eat!

Crowd: Workers want to eat!

Leader: Workers want a job!

Crowd: Workers want a job!)

Journalist:

On Tuesday morning ten to twenty thousand laid-off Liaoyang workers gathered in front of the city government office chanting slogans, demanding that the leaders of the city government solve the problems of laid-off workers’ livelihood and punish Ferroalloy (Tiehe Iin) Factory’s corrupt officials. They also protested against police detention of the workers’ representatives. One worker said:

Worker:

Some factories have given us some living expenses but still others don't. They're only paying us for two years! And after two years, won’t we still have to live? Are we going to hang ourselves? Won’t our wives and children have to live? Won’t our old folks have to live? Won’t the children have to go to school? Whatever they say is a lie.

Journalist:

A woman worker who had never spoken in front of so many people said:

Worker:

Gentlemen, compatriots, just as this friend already said, why do they arrest good people and not the corrupt officials?

(The crowds shout: That’s right!)

Worker:

I just want to say these few words: if they try to arrest our representatives, will you let it happen?

(The crowds shout: No, we won’t!)

Journalist:

Another worker spoke up:

Worker:

This government doesn’t stand for the people; they cover up for the corrupt officials. Why don’t they arrest our factory officials, who embezzled over a hundred million yuan? It’s like worms eating up the factory; hundreds of millions of yuan have disappeared. Why are they not arrested? They arrest us, workers. Who is this government for?

Journalist:

Another worker spoke passionately:

Worker:

Our fathers’ generation gave their blood and sweat for the prosperity of the country and the prosperity of Liaoyang. Now everybody is saying: “You offer your youth to the Party, but when you get old no one looks after you.” Like Old Li in our factory: his son has been laid off. So his son and his grand son all have to live on him. He could only afford to buy two catties of meat for the Chinese New Year Festival. All we want is 180 yuan [a month] for living expenses, is this a crime?

Journalist:

He continued:

Worker:

It’s more difficult for us to see the government officials than Kuan Yin Bodhisattva. We have requested meetings with the leading cadres of the government and the leading cadres and senior officers of the police, but they wouldn’t see us. How come that once the workers started demonstrating, they initiated the meeting? Can we only solve problems through demonstrations?

Journalist:

The journalist has also learned that the local public security bureau [police] sent a large number of plain-clothes policemen to today’s demonstrations to keep an eye on the labour representatives. Yet the demonstration came out in vast number, It was peaceful and there were no clashes between police and workers. Voice of America reporter also interviewed Master Pang, a worker laid off from Tiehejin Factory. Pang and another 12 workers’ representatives held a dialog with the city government. Master Long said that, under the great pressure of workers’ demands, around noon time the city government finally agreed to have a meeting with the workers’ representatives. The workers waited for over an hour in the meeting hall of the city government. Twelve officials, including the Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, two Vice-Mayors, secretary of the Policy and Legislation Committee, Chief of Justice of the Court, Prosecutor-General, and the director of the Public Security Bureau (PSB), met the workers. The representatives were told that the General Secretary of the City Party Committee was presently meeting with an investigation team from the central government and the Mayor was on an overseas trip. According to Master Pang, the city officials and workers’ representatives discussed the problems of corruption, the factory’s bankruptcy, the laying-off of workers and detention of workers by the PSB.

Representative:

They said, ‘We are very concerned about the problems put forward by the workers. We will definitley do something about them." Trying to reassure everybody.

Journalist:

Did they offer any specific measures to solve the problems?

Representative:

No, they didn’t offer that. They didn’t draw any conclusions. We are a little disappointed. But they guaranteed they would do something to solve the problem.

Journalist:

Workers’ representative Master Long also said:

Representative:

The PSBofficers adopted high-handed measures to keep the situation under control. Yesterday they issued a warning to the workers’ representatives, saying that it was illegal for the workers to demonstrate and shout slogans, and that the police hadn’t receive any applications or approved the demonstrations. He said, the only result of today’s meeting is that the government officials and the PSB chief guaranteed that no arrest would be make. They told the workers’ representatives they could stay at home and not to worry that they would get arrested. The city leading officials asked the workers’ representatives prepare their material and in a couple of days, when the General Secretary of the city's Party Committee returned they would set a time for another dialog.