Jasic Workers Solidarity Group Explained

The Jasic Workers Solidarity Group (Chinese: s=佳士工人声援团) was a student-led labour movement in the city of Huizhou, Guangdong, China, which protested against labour conditions at a factory owned by Jasic Technology, a welding machinery manufacturer, from July to August 2018.[1] [2] The group of students and disgruntled workers sought to legally form a labour union; the dispute came to be known as the Jasic incident. Their efforts were, despite initial signs of support, opposed by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, which rarely engages in collective bargaining and has been described as 'ineffective at representing workers'.[3] Unions in China are legal only if they are under the ACFTU. Hence, the Federation's opposition constituted a legal excuse for suppression of the JASIC unionists and their student allies.[4] The movement consisted mostly of left wing students of Peking University and has been characterized as Maoist,[5] feminist,[6] and socialist.

History

In January 2018, the initially American-based Me Too movement began to gain popularity within Chinese academic circles.[7] [8] Yue Xin, a student at Peking University, began a campaign against Professor Shen Yang over allegations of rape and sexual misconduct in 1998, which led to the suicide of a female student.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

In September 2018, workers at the JASIC factory in Huizhou, Guangdong attempted to form a union in protest to poor labour conditions and inadequate pay. The news of workers' protests spread through Chinese social media, leading to a group of forty students to travel to Huizhou to protest in solidarity with the workers. Members of the group have characterized themselves as Marxists and Maoists.[14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

Members

Reactions

Cornell University announced that it would no longer be co-operating with Renmin University of China after the crackdown on student activists.[5] Human rights organization Amnesty International released a statement condemning the suppression of the striking workers and the detention of student activists.[23]

See also

References

  1. News: Two Chinese trade union officials arrested after helping workers: source. 9 December 2018. en.
  2. News: Young Activists Go Missing in China, Raising Fears of Crackdown. The New York Times . 11 November 2018 . 20 November 2018. en. Hernández . Javier C. .
  3. News: Effort to Form Union in China Meets Ferocious Repression. 9 December 2018. en.
  4. News: China: JASIC workers' struggle reveals rising class tensions. 9 December 2018. en.
  5. News: China's Leaders Confront an Unlikely Foe: Ardent Young Communists. The New York Times . 28 September 2018 . 20 November 2018. en. Hernández . Javier C. .
  6. News: Opinion The Price of Saying 'Me Too' in China. The New York Times . 9 May 2018 . 20 November 2018. en. Li . Audrey Jiajia .
  7. News: Students Defiant as Chinese University Warns #MeToo Activist. The New York Times . 24 April 2018 . 20 November 2018. en. Hernández . Javier C. . Zhao . Iris .
  8. News: 'Me Too,' Chinese Women Say. Not So Fast, Say the Censors.. The New York Times . 24 January 2018 . 20 November 2018. en. Hernández . Javier C. . Mou . Zoe .
  9. Web site: Student says Peking University trying to silence her over rape claim petition. Kuo. Lily. 24 April 2018. The Guardian. en. 20 November 2018.
  10. News: 深圳佳士维权： 中国社媒审查与致习公开信. 23 August 2018. BBC News 中文. 1 January 2019. en-GB.
  11. News: Chinese Maoists join students in fight for workers' rights. Lau. Mimi. 10 August 2018. South China Morning Post. 31 December 2018. South China Morning Post. en.
  12. News: 高压下崛起的中国左翼青年. 苒苒. 28 December 2018. BBC News 中文. 1 January 2019.
  13. News: 观点：深圳佳士工人维权的两大意义. 潘毅. 17 August 2018. BBC News 中文. 1 January 2019. en-GB.
  14. Web site: International News: Latest Headlines, Video and Photographs from Around the World -- People, Places, Crisis, Conflict, Culture, Change, Analysis and Trends. ABC News.
  15. Web site: Police raid student group as support for Shenzhen Jasic workers grows. 24 August 2018. China Labour Bulletin.
  16. China's Workers Aren't Fighting a Trade War—They're Fighting a Labor War. Michelle. Chen. The Nation. 4 September 2018. www.thenation.com. 26 November 2018. 22 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200122174322/https://www.thenation.com/article/chinas-workers-arent-fighting-a-trade-war-theyre-fighting-a-labor-war/. dead.
  17. Web site: 1 September 2018 . Shenzhen Jasic Technology: the birth of a worker-student coalition in China? . .
  18. Web site: Dozens Arrested After Worker Protests In Shenzhen. Brian. Hioe. 31 July 2018. New Bloom Magazine.
  19. Web site: Jasic Detainee #4: Liu Penghua: We Need a Union, Not Just Rights Defense - Labor Notes. labornotes.org. 26 November 2018.
  20. Web site: Jasic Detainee #2: Li Zhan: Standing with Workers through Thick and Thin - Labor Notes. www.labornotes.org. 18 November 2018.
  21. Web site: Jasic Detainee #1: The Story of Worker-Poet Mi Jiuping - Labor Notes. www.labornotes.org. 5 November 2018.
  22. Web site: Jasic Detainee #3: The Story of Yu Juncong: Always Standing Against Injustice - Labor Notes. labornotes.org. 19 November 2018.
  23. Web site: China: Thirty people detained at factory worker protest must be released. www.amnesty.org. 26 November 2018. 20 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210620191010/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/07/china-free-shenzhen-factory-worker-protest/. dead.

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