Workers' struggles in East Asia (August 2011)

This month there has been news from Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.

The most important stories:

Cambodia 4: Two dollar strike to continue (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
Cambodia 5: Firing pregnant staff triggers strike (link 1)
Cambodia 8: Inflation fuels protest over petrol prices (link 1)
Cambodia 10: Beer girls triumph as payment promised (link 1) (link 2)
Cambodia 18: Villagers Stage 'Avatar' Themed Protest about Land Loss (link 1) (link 2)
Cambodia 25: Workers resume protest at shoe factory (link 1) (link 2)
China 1: Hangzhou cabbies on strike over fuel cost and congestion (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
China 1: Striking taxi drivers demand pension coverage (link 1) (link 2)
China 2: Shanghai and Hangzhou protests highlight growing frustration of taxi drivers across China (link 1)
China 3: China taxi drivers strike for 3rd day, some return to work (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
China 4: Workers protest at Macau Yacht Club (link 1)
China 4: Railway workers stage strike in Changsha (link 1)
China 5: Judicial Corruption Protesters Willing to Jump to Their Deaths (link 1) (link 2)
China 9: Strikes by taxi drivers spreading in China (link 1)
China 9: Ten Thousand Riot Over Incinerator Construction in China (link 1) (link 2)
China 10: Hong Kong rights group says 10 injured in north China clash (link 1) (link 2)
China 12: Ten Thousand in China's Guizhou Retaliate After Street Police Violence (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)
China 14: Civic outcry stirs rapid response as China closes chemical factory (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) (link 24) (link 25) (link 26) (link 27) (link 28) (link 29) (link 30)
China 19: Thousands of Villagers Clash With Police in Southeast China (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
China 19: Jinan Protest Triggers Police Response (link 1)
China 23: Carnival strike workers paid (link 1) (link 2)
China 26: Chinese province orders cab fare hike following driver strike (link 1) (link 2)
China 29: Protest at fuel price halts traffic (link 1)
Indonesia 1: Paperworkers Strike Indonesian Pulp Mill; Pressure Brings Marubeni to Table (link 1)
Indonesia 3: Indonesian union seeks hefty pay rise from Freeport (link 1)
Indonesia 6: Railway employees threaten strike (link 1)
Indonesia 6: Protest against eviction (link 1)
Indonesia 8: Glass Factory Workers in Sidoarjo Rally (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Indonesia 18: Carrefour employees to strike before Idul Fitri (link 1)
Indonesia 23: Residents Burn Office of Palm Company for stealing their land (link 1)
Indonesia 24: Raids halt Indonesia Tiaka oilfield production (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
Indonesia 25: Carrefour's Indonesia workers may strike over weekend (link 1)
Indonesia 25: Wood Factory Workers Strike (link 1)
Indonesia 26: Freeport Indonesia copper miners plan strike soon (link 1) (link 2)
Indonesia 27: Salt farmers strike for Ramadan bonus (link 1)
Papua New Guinea 25: Workers strike at Exxon's Papua New Guinea LNG site (link 1)
Philippines 14: QC urban poor slam Ayala, NHA for impending demolition (link 1)
Philippines 22: Philippine Airlines workers to hold protest Monday (link 1)
Philippines 30: 39 arrested in Aloguinsan over fencing of hacienda (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Philippines 31: Nationwide peoples� protest, regional transport strike vs oil overpricing and deregulation (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
South Korea 25: Conflicts over Jeju naval base escalate (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
South Korea 28: Protestors attacked by police at international AIDS conference (link 1)
South Korea 28: Police fire water cannons at protesters in rally against Hanjin layoffs (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8)
South Korea 31: Seoul subway sit-in for free disabled services (link 1)
Taiwan 7: Labor unions protest unpaid overtime, call for change in law (link 1)
Taiwan 26: Groups protest to suspend water diversion project (link 1)
Taiwan 29: Protesters ask for justice in housing (link 1)
Thailand 1: Solidarity with Thai railway workers (link 1)
Thailand 2: Four held over death of coal protest leader (link 1) (link 2)
Thailand 23: Rally against mega-projects blocks traffic in Chumphon (link 1)

All reports ordered by country and date:

-Analysis

3: Le Nouvel Observateur: La longue marche des syndicalistes chinois (link 1)

-WSWS Asia

6: Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific (link 1)
13: Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific (link 1)
20: Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific (link 1)
27: Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific (link 1)

Burma/Myanmar

1: Thousands of Construction Workers Lose Jobs in Burma�s Capital, Naypyitaw (link 1)

Cambodia

3: Protest at luxury SR hotel (link 1)
4: Two dollar strike to continue (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
5: Union makes poisoning claim (link 1) (link 2)
5: Firing pregnant staff triggers strike (link 1)
8: Unpaid workers told to delay their protests (link 1)
8: Inflation fuels protest over petrol prices (link 1)
9: Textile dispute suspended (link 1)
10: Beer girls triumph as payment promised (link 1) (link 2)
18: Villagers Stage 'Avatar' Themed Protest about Land Loss (link 1) (link 2)
25: Hundreds Faint in Garment Factory (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
25: Workers resume protest at shoe factory (link 1) (link 2)
30: Cambodia's activist monk fights on despite threats (link 1)
30: Cambodian govt defends NGO law (link 1)

China

1: Young worker reports violent boss to the police - gets compensation and an apology (link 1)
1: Under Propaganda Orders, Chinese Media Battles for Truth (link 1)
1: Workers� future unclear as Foxconn announces plans for one million robots over the next three years (link 1)
1: Microblogs Shed New Light on China's Train Crash (link 1)
1: Hangzhou cabbies on strike over fuel cost and congestion (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
1: Striking taxi drivers demand pension coverage (link 1) (link 2)
2: Excessive Force by China's Street Police Triggers Outburst (link 1)
2: Beijing Police Probing Alleged Illegal Detentions (link 1)
2: Shanghai and Hangzhou protests highlight growing frustration of taxi drivers across China (link 1)
3: Ai Weiwei Describes Mental Torment in Captivity (link 1)
3: Chinese rights advocates call for release of internet activist (link 1) (link 2)
3: Fears For Activist And Family (link 1)
3: China taxi drivers strike for 3rd day, some return to work (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
4: �Real Names� Policies Are an Abuse of Power (link 1)
4: Latest population statistics show migrants still on the margins in Guangdong (link 1)
4: Workers protest at Macau Yacht Club (link 1)
4: Railway workers stage strike in Changsha (link 1)
5: High Tech, Low Pay: Let the Workers Behind Our Electronics Be Heard (link 1)
5: Netizens have their say about the recent strike action in China (link 1)
5: Tibetan Mine Protesters Detained (link 1) (link 2)
5: Judicial Corruption Protesters Willing to Jump to Their Deaths (link 1) (link 2)
8: China: Taxi Drivers and Railway Workers on Strike (link 1)
8: Black Jail Inmates Freed (link 1)
9: Land seizures in China�s Kashgar fuel anger among Uighurs (link 1)
9: Chinese Blogs Dare to Defy Propaganda Department Decrees (link 1)
9: Urban Poor Under Pressure (link 1)
9: China�s Ai Weiwei Speaks Out Over Activists� Detentions on Twitter (link 1) (link 2)
9: Cab drivers strike again in east China (link 1)
9: Strikes by taxi drivers spreading in China (link 1)
9: Ten Thousand Riot Over Incinerator Construction in China (link 1) (link 2)
10: Hong Kong rights group says 10 injured in north China clash (link 1) (link 2)
11: China�s train crash evolves into a political crisis (link 1)
12: Chinese internet activist Wang Lihong goes on trial (link 1) (link 2)
12: Crowdsourced Anti-Corruption Websites Return � Briefly (link 1)
12: Ten Thousand in China's Guizhou Retaliate After Street Police Violence (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)
13: Seeming to Defy Authorities, Ai Weiwei Speaks Against Injustice (link 1) (link 2)
13: Hong Kong right of abode conflict (link 1)
14: Fifty Million Chinese Farmers Had Land Stolen (link 1)
14: Civic outcry stirs rapid response as China closes chemical factory (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) (link 24) (link 25) (link 26) (link 27) (link 28) (link 29) (link 30)
15: Dalian�s Past, Dalian�s Present, Part 1 (link 1)
15: Farmers Sent to Reeducation Camp (link 1)
15: Rights Lawyer Still Missing (link 1)
16: Anger Over Migrant School Closures (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
16: China's Labor Tests Its Muscle (link 1)
17: Troops Surround Protest Monastery (link 1)
19: Tibetans Forced From Homes (link 1)
19: Thousands of Villagers Clash With Police in Southeast China (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
19: Jinan Protest Triggers Police Response (link 1)
21: In Beijing, Uighurs seeking to petition government face abuse (link 1)
22: Hong Kong Police Block Protests Against China's Vice Premier (link 1)
23: Chinese regime again repressing left-wing critics (link 1)
23: The New Epicenter of China's Discontent (link 1)
23: Ten-Year-Old's Heartbreaking Cry for Justice Muted by Chinese Censors (link 1)
23: Carnival strike workers paid (link 1) (link 2)
24: Yu Jianrong on Closing of Migrant Schools (link 1)
24: From the grassroots up (link 1)
25: China's embattled cabbies highlight working class struggles (link 1)
25: Warning Over Shrinking Grasslands (link 1)
25: China executes man for running over Mongol herder (link 1)
26: Accounts of Chinese Bloggers Suspended, Causing Protests (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
26: Chinese province orders cab fare hike following driver strike (link 1) (link 2)
28: Chinese Regime Considers Legalizing Illegal Detentions (link 1) (link 2)
28: One Year Into China�s Real-Name System for Cell Phones, Things Aren�t Going Well (link 1)
28: Ai Weiwei: The City: Beijing (link 1)
29: Shenzhen Woman Takes her Appeal to Hong Kong (link 1)
29: Protest at fuel price halts traffic (link 1)
30: On a wave of transport strikes...and more (link 1)
30: 'Jail' Built For Activist, Family (link 1)
31: Online Hacking Crackdown 'Targets Dissent' (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
31: Stabbing Death of Chinese Official Investigating Corruption Deemed Suicide (link 1)
31: Labor Camp For Vaccine Dad (link 1)

Indonesia

1: Landmark legal victory for Indonesian workers (link 1)
1: Paperworkers Strike Indonesian Pulp Mill; Pressure Brings Marubeni to Table (link 1)
3: Indonesian union seeks hefty pay rise from Freeport (link 1)
6: Blockade of mining company over lack of local jobs (link 1)
6: Railway employees threaten strike (link 1)
6: Protest against eviction (link 1)
8: Glass Factory Workers in Sidoarjo Rally (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
16: Enough, Say West Papuan Workers To Freeport (link 1)
18: Carrefour employees to strike before Idul Fitri (link 1)
23: Restaurant Strike (link 1)
23: Residents Burn Office of Palm Company for stealing their land (link 1)
24: Raids halt Indonesia Tiaka oilfield production (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
25: Carrefour's Indonesia workers may strike over weekend (link 1)
25: Wood Factory Workers Strike (link 1)
26: Korean boat crew leave empty-handed (link 1)
26: Freeport Indonesia copper miners plan strike soon (link 1) (link 2)
27: Carrefour Indonesia says unaffected by worker action (link 1)
27: Salt farmers strike for Ramadan bonus (link 1)
30: Indonesia could face more strikes as workers push for higher pay (link 1) (link 2)
30: Medical workers charged for income protests (link 1)

Japan

3: Farmers' group stages protest at TEPCO headquarters to demand compensation (link 1)

Malaysia

29: Malaysian Paperworkers� Union Scores Big for Kimberly Clark Contract Workers (link 1)

Papua New Guinea

25: Workers strike at Exxon's Papua New Guinea LNG site (link 1)

Philippines

1: Reclamation of 1k hectares of foreshore area stirs protest (link 1)
4: 30K farmers from Southern Tagalog call for new agrarian reform law (link 1)
10: Department of Labor and Employment records one strike in 7-month period (link 1)
14: QC urban poor slam Ayala, NHA for impending demolition (link 1)
18: PALEA prepares protests vs PAL spinoff (link 1)
18: Mass actions being readied for P9 oil price rollback (link 1)
18: Over 300 Philippine Airlines workers in Cebu, Davao to lose jobs (link 1) (link 2)
18: PALEA rejects dialogue on layoff plan, gets support of Asia Pacific aviation unions (link 1)
22: PAL, other carriers told to brace for labor strikes (link 1)
22: Philippine Airlines workers to hold protest Monday (link 1)
25: DoLE settles labor dispute at Filipinas Port Services in Davao (link 1)
29: Philippine Airlines to lay off 2,600 workers by Sept. 30 (link 1) (link 2)
30: 39 arrested in Aloguinsan over fencing of hacienda (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
31: Team successfully demolishes QC shanties (link 1) (link 2)
31: Nationwide peoples� protest, regional transport strike vs oil overpricing and deregulation (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)

South Korea

1: Estimated 15,000 turn out for third Hope Bus Campaign (link 1)
1: [Interview] Kim Jin-suk reaffirms commitment to protest until HHIC reinstates workers (link 1)
7: Tenants forcibly evicted from Myeong-dong and Poi-dong (link 1)
10: Tensions mount on Jeju base site (link 1)
11: HHIC chairman returns, adamant against employee reinstatement (link 1)
14: National and International Protests Challenge Naval Base Construction on Jeju Island, South Korea (link 1)
17: South Korean government deploys police against shipyard protest (link 1)
17: Korean groups protest fishing crew abuses (link 1)
17: SC First Bank pinning hopes on compromise to end extended strike (link 1)
17: Hyundai Motor union head severs little finger (link 1)
18: Hanjin boss apologizes for dispute (link 1)
19: Hanjin �murdered� workers, pols say (link 1)
19: StanChart�s Korea unit scales back strike (link 1)
20: NUMW votes to block advertising for �ChoJoongDong� networks (link 1)
21: Naval Base Tears Apart Korean Village (link 1)
22: SC First Bank labor union to return to work next week (link 1) (link 2)
23: Renault Samsung gets its first union (link 1)
24: Hyundai Motor union accepts 5.41 pct wage hike (link 1) (link 2)
25: Conflicts over Jeju naval base escalate (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
26: SC First Bank union plans six-month partial strike (link 1)
28: Protestors attacked by police at international AIDS conference (link 1)
28: Police fire water cannons at protesters in rally against Hanjin layoffs (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8)
29: Bank workers mull group action against cut wages (link 1)
29: Dodgy pro-cop account of protest onJeju (link 1)
29: "Obstructing Business": South Koreans on the March (link 1)
30: Unionized workers at SC First Bank return to work (link 1) (link 2)
31: S. Korea urges end to naval base protests (link 1)
31: SC First Bank to keep 42 branches shuttered until strike ends: head (link 1)
31: Seoul subway sit-in for free disabled services (link 1)

Taiwan

2: Mailiao residents to stage further protest against FPG (link 1)
5: Students, farmers urge president to protect agricultural water (link 1)
6: Workers group to call for end of abused labor law loophole (link 1)
7: Labor unions protest unpaid overtime, call for change in law (link 1)
8: Workers protest against overwork, bad conditions (link 1)
8: Changhua farmers protest CTSP irrigation water plans (link 1)
10: Labor rights group calls for higher hourly wage (link 1) (link 2)
26: Groups protest to suspend water diversion project (link 1)
28: Police �concern� worries activists (link 1)
29: Protesters ask for justice in housing (link 1)

Thailand

1: Solidarity with Thai railway workers (link 1)
2: Transit Union Shows Solidarity with Dismissed Thai Railway Workers (link 1)
2: Four held over death of coal protest leader (link 1) (link 2)
12: Transport unions in Japan and Norway stand in solidarity with Thailand railway workers (link 1)
16: Politics on two wheels in Thailand's capital (link 1)
23: Rally against mega-projects blocks traffic in Chumphon (link 1)
26: Minimum Wage in Thailand Not Likely to Apply to Migrants (link 1)

Vietnam

2: Verdict �Known in Advance� (link 1)
15: Vietnam Takes Calculated Approach to Public Protests (link 1)
17: Japanese metalworkers union meets families of jailed Viet unionists (link 1)
18: Court Upholds Activist Sentences (link 1)