Workers' struggles in East Asia (April 2014)

This month there has been news from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

I apologise for the lateness of this summary, I was on holiday (in China in fact, so many sources were blocked) then had some technical difficulties. In any case the most important story of last month was cover by Empire Logistics here. Also, you may want to check out the new blog by Nao here which looks like it will go into far more depth than my superficial summaries of corporate media coverage.

The most important stories:

Cambodia 4: Sorya Drivers Take Bus Keys, Go on Strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
Cambodia 9: Kampot Cement Company Workers on Strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Cambodia 19: Stay-at-home garment strike off to weak start (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10) (link 11) (link 12) (link 13)
Cambodia 24: Bus strike, part deux (link 1)
Cambodia 29: Strike Shandong Sunshell, Manhattan and Tai Seng in Bavet, Svay Rieng (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
China 1: Workers at Samsung supplier strike over salary, insurance (link 1)
China 8: New Strike Breaks Out at China Factory That Michael Jordan Made Famous (link 1)
China 15: Workers strike at company that makes Nike, Adidas, other brand-name shoes (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10) (link 11) (link 12) (link 13) (link 14) (link 15) (link 16) (link 17) (link 18) (link 19) (link 20) (link 21) (link 22) (link 23)
China 17: Strike at China Sneaker Factory Snowballs (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10) (link 11) (link 12) (link 13) (link 14) (link 15) (link 16) (link 17) (link 18) (link 19)
China 17: Teachers strike in rural Henan enters tenth day (link 1) (link 2)
China 18: Taxi strike in Dongguan, Guangdong (link 1) (link 2)
China 22: Thousands of bus company workers strike in Shenzhen (link 1) (link 2)
China 23: Strike over wages at Futaba car parts factory in Guangzhou, Guangdong (link 1)
China 24: Walmart workers in China remain resolute and defiant (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
China 28: Pressure from local authorities forces many Yue Yuen strikers back to work (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
Indonesia 15: North Sumatra Teamsters Strike Stops Up Belawan Port (link 1)
Indonesia 18: VIDEO: Banten court clerks strike over low wages (link 1)
Myanmar 10: Letpadaung Trainees Go on Strike Over Pay and Conditions (link 1) (link 2)
Taiwan 3: Breakaway protest group calls for greater diversity (link 1)
Thailand 4: Striking Burmese Workers at Mae Sot Jack Wolfskin Supplying Factory Win Concessions (link 1)
Thailand 23: Burmese Migrants Strike Over Pay at Thai Seafood Employer (link 1)

All reports ordered by country and date:

-Analysis

19: Visualizing Protest In Modern Japan (link 1)

Cambodia

1: Kampong Cham turns away Don Sahong protest (link 1)
4: Sorya Drivers Take Bus Keys, Go on Strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
9: Kampot Cement Company Workers on Strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
17: Textilstreik (link 1) (link 2)
18: Chong Villagers Put Festive Spin on Dam Protest (link 1)
19: Three Arrested, Released for Blocking Road During Market Protest (link 1)
19: Stay-at-home garment strike off to weak start (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10) (link 11) (link 12) (link 13)
22: Unrest Among Disabled Security Guards at SL Garment Factory (link 1)
24: Bus strike, part deux (link 1)
29: Strike Shandong Sunshell, Manhattan and Tai Seng in Bavet, Svay Rieng (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
30: Villagers Protest After Sand Dumped on Land (link 1)

China

1: Workers at Samsung supplier strike over salary, insurance (link 1)
3: Thousands Protest PX Plant Outside China's Maoming City Government (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10) (link 11) (link 12) (link 13) (link 14) (link 15) (link 16) (link 17) (link 18) (link 19) (link 20) (link 21)
3: Beijing detains 39 Mongol protesters in latest unrest to hit region (link 1)
3: Meet China's Protest Archivist (link 1) (link 2)
7: Workers rally to defence of labour activist Wu Guijun (link 1)
7: Three Held After Clashes Over Zhejiang Landfill Site (link 1)
7: Inner Mongolia: Herders Beaten And Detained By Police (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
7: Chinese Police Clamp Down on Graveside Memorials for Tiananmen Victims (link 1)
8: Kwai Tsing dock workers set to win pay rise, says union (link 1)
8: New Strike Breaks Out at China Factory That Michael Jordan Made Famous (link 1)
9: Uyghur Farmer, Brothers Push Back Against Land Grab (link 1)
9: Police Crack Down on Thousands at Daqing Oilfield Jobs Protest (link 1)
9: Lawyers Walk Out of Trial of Chinese Anti-Graft Activists in Protest (link 1)
10: Worker protests in China surge after Lunar New Year (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)
14: Thousands Clash With Chinese Police in Crematorium Protests (link 1)
14: Tiananmen 1989: 25 years since the mass democracy movement (link 1)
15: China convicts hospital workers after labour protest (link 1) (link 2)
15: Workers strike at company that makes Nike, Adidas, other brand-name shoes (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10) (link 11) (link 12) (link 13) (link 14) (link 15) (link 16) (link 17) (link 18) (link 19) (link 20) (link 21) (link 22) (link 23)
17: Seven Herders Held After Inner Mongolia Clashes (link 1) (link 2)
17: Strike at China Sneaker Factory Snowballs (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10) (link 11) (link 12) (link 13) (link 14) (link 15) (link 16) (link 17) (link 18) (link 19)
17: Teachers strike in rural Henan enters tenth day (link 1) (link 2)
18: Taxi strike in Dongguan, Guangdong (link 1) (link 2)
22: Thousands of bus company workers strike in Shenzhen (link 1) (link 2)
23: Labor Activists Held As China's Shoe Factory Strike Continues (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10) (link 11) (link 12) (link 13) (link 14) (link 15)
23: Strike over wages at Futaba car parts factory in Guangzhou, Guangdong (link 1)
24: Tibetan Mine Protesters Detained in Palyul (link 1)
24: Walmart workers in China remain resolute and defiant (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
28: Pressure from local authorities forces many Yue Yuen strikers back to work (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
29: Debate on the strike at Yue Yuen (link 1)

Indonesia

1: Social struggles in Indonesia, women workers and the Left (link 1) (link 2)
3: Protestors call for release of Papuan political prisoners (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
15: North Sumatra Teamsters Strike Stops Up Belawan Port (link 1)
18: VIDEO: Banten court clerks strike over low wages (link 1)
21: 1,000 bank workers protest BTN share shift (link 1)
23: Soaring fuel prices and inflation make 30% minimum wage hike a must, say unions (link 1)
23: 356 sacked Adidas workers call for support after two-year fight (link 1) (link 2)

Japan

12: Temp workers turn to unions (link 1)
20: Sit-in against relocation of Air Station Futenma marks 10th anniversary (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
22: TPP protests intensify ahead of Obama's Japan visit (link 1)

Laos

3: Conflict over land rights (link 1) (link 2)

Malaysia

19: Malaysians hold demonstration against Obama visit (link 1)
24: On May Day, Trade Unions To Rally Against GST, TPPA (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)

Myanmar

1: Police use force to disperse regrouped protests (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
4: Suu Kyi listens to land grab victims (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
10: Tavoy locals vow to step up land grab protests (link 1) (link 2)
10: Letpadaung Trainees Go on Strike Over Pay and Conditions (link 1) (link 2)
11: News black-out in protest of jailed reporters (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
22: Plough protestors charged with sedition (link 1)
23: Farmers burn coffins in protest at alleged land seizure (link 1)

Philippines

3: Philippine Muslims protest deaths at evacuation camps (link 1)
5: Workers at Keyrin Electronics (KEPI) fighting to set up labour union (link 1)
9: Farmers press for land ownership (link 1)
23: Anti-Obama protesters clash with Manila police (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
23: Earth Day in CDO: Protest staged vs coal power plants (link 1)

South Korea

10: USFK workers may strike over wages, conditions (link 1) (link 2)

Taiwan

3: Breakaway protest group calls for greater diversity (link 1)
4: Anti-trade pact movement continue in Taiwan (link 1) (link 2)
10: Taiwan: Occupation of parliament ends after 23 days (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10)
12: Taipei mayor defends police, warns protesters of 'zero tolerance' (link 1)
16: Wind farm protesters stage sit-in at Economic Ministry (link 1)
30: Civil unrest in Taiwan leads to suspension of work on new nuclear plant (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)

Thailand

1: THAI service staff threaten strike action (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
4: Striking Burmese Workers at Mae Sot Jack Wolfskin Supplying Factory Win Concessions (link 1)
23: Burmese Migrants Strike Over Pay at Thai Seafood Employer (link 1)

Vietnam

13: Mob attacks cops, officials' houses in Vietnam protest (link 1)
17: Drug seizure causes prison riot in Vietnam (link 1)