(Broadcast on 4 June 2002)

The Daqing Petroleum Administration Bureau’s (PAB) retrenched workers did not try to avoid the anniversary of the June 4 massacre, which has been seen as a sensitive day in the past 13 years. On 3 June the workers began their demonstrations early in the morning. They got onto the streets again and blocked the road in front of the PAB to demonstrate against the enterprise having cheated the workers and having forced the workers to accept retrenchment. A demonstrating retrenched worker received Han Dongfang’s telephone call at the demonstration.

Worker:

Hello!

Han Dongfang:

Hello, how are you? My name is Han, I am calling from Hong Kong.

Worker:

Hello! How are you?

Han:

How is everything, where are you?

Worker:

I am on the square in front of the PAB.

Han:

How many people are there around you?

Worker:

Seven or eight thousand.

Han:

Seven or eight thousand.

Worker:

Yes, that’s right. Yes, yes.

Han:

What is everybody doing?

Worker:

Everybody is standing around; they don’t let us in the courtyard now.

Han:

What do they [the enterprise management] say?

Worker:

Nothing. We have just blocked the road.

Han:

Which road have you blocked?

Worker:

The road in front of the PAB, the cars can’t go through.

Han:

What time did you block it?

Worker:

When we came here this morning.

Han:

What time was that?

Worker:

At about 7:30. We blocked it as soon as we got here; it is still blocked.

Han:

Is everybody on the road then, or on the square?

Worker:

They are on the road.

Han:

Are there people all over the road?

Worker:

Yes, they are on the road, on the square, people are everywhere in an uproar.

Han:

Are there any police around?

Worker:

Yes, there are, plain clothes (police).

Han:

Are there any uniformed police?

Worker:

There are, there are uniformed police.

Han:

How about armed police?

Worker:

There are no armed police. It’s like this every day, the past few days it has been like that.

Han:

Do you block the road every day?

Worker:

That’s right. After the blockade, we had a brush with the police and they made us run.

Han:

Did the police drive you off?

Worker:

Yes.

Han:

Did the police take any further action?

Worker:

They arrested one person.

Han:

The one arrested last Friday, wasn’t it?

Worker:

He was arrested last Friday but they released him by one o’clock.

Han:

Have they arrested anyone today?

Worker:

Not today.

Han:

So everybody is just standing on the road.

Worker:

Yes, we are just standing here. Sometimes they distribute leaflets; sometimes we go around.

Han:

Are there still any leaflets (distributed)?

Worker:

Yes there are.

Han:

Did anybody distribute leaflets today?

Worker:

Today there was no one. When there are many people, they are not afraid to distribute; but if you distribute when there aren’t many people they arrest you in no time.

Han:

What kind of people distribute leaflets?

Worker:

All are retrenched workers. It is all individual effort, not organised; nobody would dare to organise it. If you organise anything, they arrest you right away.

Han:

Are there still any of the organisers arrested?

Worker:

I am not sure. They (ed.: the police) arrest people on the sly.

Han:

Do you know how many people are still locked up?

Worker:

No, we don’t know.

Han:

But is it sure that some people are still under arrest?

Worker:

That’s for sure; surely there are some.

Han:

Well, that one, at the beginning, the committee of the retrenched workers’ temporary labour union, where is that?

Worker:

It disappeared; it has all been disbanded.

Han:

Is there anyone of those people around whom you know?

Worker:

No, there is no one, we don’t see them anymore; none of those who were organising (the demonstration) at the beginning is around.

Han:

How many people were in this organisation?

Worker:

About 10 people.

Han:

What kind of people were they, from their looks?

Worker:

They were all retrenched workers. Their education was a bit better. Some of them had been leaders of their units; they have been retrenched recently.

Han:

Were there any ordinary workers?

Worker:

Yes, there were. There were workers too.

Han:

So they are not organising anymore. But are there any channels to hold negotiations with the enterprise?

Worker:

No, there aren’t! If you organise anything they arrest you right away!

Han:

Did the enterprise want the workers to send representatives to hold negotiations with them?

Worker:

Yes, at the beginning they talked to us; they talked to us but later…now they don’t pay any attention to us. It’s the 90….93rd day today.

Han:

What does everybody hope the next step will be?

Worker:

They were all saying that if we pass the 90th day, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) would intervene. These people are all waiting for the ILO to intervene, to put pressure on the government and exert their influence to make them (the government) quickly solve our problem.

Han:

Have you heard that today, on 2 June, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), headquartered in Bruxelles, officially launched a formal complaint to the ILO in Geneva about the Chinese government’s infringement on the Chinese workers’ rights to organise labour unions? Have you heard about this?

Worker:

No, we haven’t. What are we saying now? We want badly more media to intervene here and increase the pressure to solve our problem as soon as possible. We don’t dare to confront other things, because they arrest us for a comment out of line.

Han:

Do you have any expectations towards the local general trade union?

Worker:

The general trade union doesn’t care for us at all.

Han:

Did you try to contact them?

Worker:

We did contact them; they didn’t care. They care about nothing. They are of the same view as the communist party, which is to screw us.

Han:

What did the general trade union people say when you contacted them?

Worker:

They said, “this time even the party and the party committee don’t act, how could the trade union act? What’s more, we have broken off the relationship, you have already left us. We don’t mind your business.”

Han:

So the trade union said you were not workers anymore?

Worker:

That’s right. If you are no longer under any labour contract, you are not a worker anymore, so the union is not there for you.

Han:

But don’t you feel that you are still one of the working class?

Worker:

Of course we are. When we were laid off, they didn’t tell us anything about this. They (ed. Daqing PAB) tricked us into retrenchment. We hope the media will interfere soon, and put some pressure on them.

Han:

Now during the whole of June the ILO will hold its annual meetings. On 2 June the ICFTU has already submitted this formal complaint to the ILO. So within the next three months, the Chinese government has to provide an official response to this complaint. Have you heard anything about this?

Worker:

No, we haven’t. This kind of information is strictly suppressed.

Han:

So if we calculate from 2 June, July; August; 2 September; the government has to give a formal reply to the ILO before 2 September about the workers arrested in Daqing, Liaoyang and those arrested in 1989. What do you think, that is, what would you like the ILO do with regards to this?

Worker:

We want them to intervene, put pressure on the government.

Han:

Today is 3 June, tomorrow is 4th of June, are you not worried about demonstrating on such a sensitive day?

Worker:

We are not worried, what should we be afraid of? We have nothing left, what can be scared of? We have nothing; we fear nothing. We are doing this for our own rights. They started it, they did it, nobody can blame us for it; they started this, but we will fight with them.

Han:

Can you put it in simpler terms; what is your ultimate demand by gathering here?

Worker:

One point is that we want internal retirement; second, we want them to contribute to the medical insurance and retirement funds. There are only these two points.

Han:

If these were satisfied, would everybody be all right then?

Worker:

Yes. Fulfil only one demand and we will go away; if they don’t fulfil either demands, there will be no deal here.

Han:

Is there any hope that they would satisfy (your demands)?

Worker:

If we persist like this, I believe there is hope.

Han:

Do you feel the others have the momentum to persist?

Worker:

Yes, they have! It has been 93 days today and we still persist.

Han:

There are three more months before the government has to give a reply to the ILO in Geneva. Do you think everyone can persist for three more months?

Worker:

Yes, definitely. I believe so. Let’s stop talking, there are already quite a few plain clothes (policemen) standing in front of me.

Han:

Are they watching you?

Worker:

Yes.

Han:

Do they want to bother you?

Worker:

Maybe not now. Let’s stop talking.

Han:

Let’s stop.

Worker:

Talking about sensitive problems, they have already caught up with me.

Han:

Okay, good-bye.

Worker:

We can talk another time.

Han:

Okay, take care of yourself!

Worker:

Okay!