China
Content about workers' struggles and events in China.
The state and counter-revolution - Negation
A 1972 article by Negation, in the United States debunking the myths of Leninism and the New Left in particular.
They confront the fact that state-capitalism, the state-management of production and society, the rule over society by the class of the state, the bureaucracy, is still almost universally confused with "communism" as Marx defined it, due in part to the conspiracy of silence and distortion which unites the capitalists of both "East" and "West".
Bureaucrats - Simon Leys
Despite the claims of the Maoist ruling elite of a complete break with feudal ways, Leys illustrates that the finely graded hierarchies of Maoist officialdom inherited and preserved the earlier bureaucratic structures of privilege.
Simon Leys is the pen-name of Pierre Ryckmans; he has written extensively on the history, culture and politics of China.
From; Chinese Shadows, Simon Leys; Penguin Books, London, 1978.
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Bureaucrats
(Simon Leys)
China: explosion kills 15 coal miners
At least 15 workers have been killed after an explosion in a coal mine in the northern province of Shanxi.
The horrendous safety record of chinese mines, as reported previously on libcom, results in around 5000 reported deaths a year. This April was particularly bloody with a a total of 80 workers reported killed or missing in accidents.
The Chinese mining industry - cheaper lives mean cheaper coal; so Australian bosses threaten relocation
Last week the Chinese media reported that on average one mining accident every week is being covered up by management.
Quote:
[i]Those responsible for safety had sabotaged scenes, destroyed evidence and moved bodies, Xinhua News Agency quoted Li Yizhong, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, as saying, adding that most had been brought to justice.
In one 10-day period last month, 72 people were killed in four separate accidents.
China: hundreds block railway line in benefits protest
Residents of Guixi in the Jiangxi province were angry at government plans which would see their wages and benefits cut.
The plans involve placing Guixi under the jurisdiction of the neighbouring district, which may mean a lowering of benefits and state wages for Guixi residents. Protestors blocked two rail connections for around six hours, including the heavily traveled line that runs from Shanghai in the east, cutting through Jiangxi to the southwestern city of Kunming.
China: One killed and 60 injured in riot over transport price hikes
A student was killed and at least 60 people were injured in central China when villagers armed with bricks and rocks clashed with baton-wielding police over rising bus fares.
In a follow up to our story on Monday, we can report that the demonstrations were concerned with the doubling of the ticket prices over the Chinese New Year holiday in February.
20,000 farmers and workers riot in China
Hunan city, Yongzhou, central China; around 20,000 farmers and laid off workers have rioted and clashed with 1,000 police armed with guns and electric cattle prods.
The rioters were reported to be protesting against government corruption and rising transport costs. The unrest was eventually suppressed with scores of arrests and some injuries, none serious, on both sides.
Welcome to the 'Chinese century'?
It is perhaps difficult to overstate the sheer immensity of the transformation that is being wrought in China. In merely a few years, entire cities have been summoned into existence and vast industries have been brought into being - as China has emerged from being widely regarded as a peculiar autarchic rural backwater, which was geo-politically significant only for having the bomb and a large army, to being recognised as a major economic powerhouse on the world stage.
Murder of hotel worker leads to widespread protest in western China
A small regional town in Sichuan province in western China has become the latest site for the vast number of protests occurring across the country in response to people’s discontent with rampant corruption and government impunity.
Up to 20,000 people, according to some reports, demonstrated over a number of days outside the four-star Nest Business Hotel following the death of a 16-year-old female hotel worker, who was raped and murdered on the premises. On the night of January 17, the protests reached a climax as people stormed the hotel and set it alight.
China: Safari park workers on strike
400 workers at a safari park in China have gone on strike over wages, job cuts and management corruption.
The park closed on Thursday when no workers showed up for work and around 100 picketed the entrance. On Friday around 70 police officers raided the park during a sit-in during which hundreds of employees began hanging protest signs around the park, however most of the workers left shortly after the police arrived.
