Workers' struggles in East Asia (July 2011)

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

The most important stories:

Cambodia 11: Evicted residents protest at Cambodian groundbreaking (link 1) (link 2)
Cambodia 22: Supertex workers in new strike (link 1)
Cambodia 25: Beer girls brew Angkor strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Cambodia 26: Cambodia's Young, Independent New Unions Challenge the Status Quo and Win (link 1)
Cambodia 28: Armed police crack down on protest (link 1) (link 2)
China 1: Thousands March in Hong Kong (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10) (link 11) (link 12)
China 6: Beijing Flooded With Petitions (link 1)
China 8: Anger Over Water Shortage (link 1)
China 15: Villager Crushed by Excavator in Jiangxi Province Land Dispute (link 1) (link 2)
China 25: Villagers Tie up Police, Douse with Gasoline, Over Land Conflict (link 1) (link 2)
China 25: Fresh Protests in Inner Mongolia (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
China 26: Public Fury Follows Chinese Rail Disaster (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)
China 27: China Fruit Seller Death Sparks Riot in Guizhou (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10)
China 29: Journalist Tells of Police Detention, Beating after Reporting Riots (link 1)
China 31: Ex-Students Protest Broken Pact (link 1)
Indonesia 1: Hundreds of Employees PT Tipota Strike (link 1)
Indonesia 4: Thousands of Freeport Indonesia mine workers start 7-day strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8)
Indonesia 5: Workers say strike hits output at Freeport Indonesia mine (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
Indonesia 7: Indonesian mine workers' strike intensifies (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
Indonesia 9: Strike extended at Freeport McMoRan Indonesia mine (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Indonesia 11: Papua mine strike enters second week (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Indonesia 12: Strike at Freeport\'s Grasberg Mine Ends (link 1) (link 2)
Indonesia 15: Freeport Indonesia production, shipments resume-workers (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Indonesia 18: Indonesia Mine Union Wins Strike, Reinstatement of Sacked Union Leaders (link 1)
Indonesia 19: Thousands of retired employees of the state plantation PTPN IX, PTPN II demonstrated for housing (link 1)
Indonesia 26: Indonesian Paperworkers On Strike at Japanese Marubeni Pulp Mill (link 1)
Indonesia 28: Garuda Indonesia pilot strike ends early, few delays (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)
Malaysia 9: Malaysia fires tear gas at protest, arrests 1,667 (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)
Malaysia 9: Bersih rally goes global (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
Malaysia 10: Protester dies, Malaysia frees 1,600 demonstrators (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
Malaysia 30: Get out! RUM tells KTMB boss (link 1)
Papua New Guinea 25: Census workers rampage (link 1)
Philippines 1: Davao mayor \'mauls\' sheriff over violent demolition (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Philippines 2: Greeks' woes are Pinoys', too (link 1)
Philippines 5: Multinational firm's mass dismissal of workers condemned (link 1)
Philippines 6: Agency workers in Cebu ecozone form union (link 1)
Philippines 7: Luisita tillers want land (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Philippines 11: Farmers set to march vs Luisita vote (link 1)
Philippines 23: Strike looms anew at
Dumaguete port (link 1)
Philippines 25: Thousands rally at Noy's SONA (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10)
Philippines 25: Surveillance on a labour leader in Laguna (link 1)
Philippines 26: Cannery workers protest new BFAR rule (link 1)
Philippines 26: The U.P. Workers: 166 Contractual Workers Summarily Dismissed by DOH Seek �Justice� (link 1)
Singapore 8: PRC worker charged for solo protest (link 1) (link 2)
South Korea 7: GM Korea unionists go on partial strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
South Korea 9: Bus strike over after agreement with union (link 1) (link 2)
South Korea 10: Protesters, police clash in South Korea (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
South Korea 11: GM Korea workers back after weekend stoppage over wages (link 1)
South Korea 11: S. Korea bank to shut some branches due to strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)

South Korea 12: Woman striker rallies Korea workers from the top of a crane (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
South Korea 13: GM Korea agrees on record bonus to settle labor strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
South Korea 15: More activists arrested at Jeju naval base protest site (link 1)
South Korea 16: Korea: Stop police assault on Hanjin workers, free jailed trade unionists (link 1)
South Korea 18: S.Korea urges StanChart local unit to end long labour dispute (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
South Korea 22: SC First Bank strike persists as talks break down (link 1)
South Korea 22: `Hope Bus` campaign near Busan (link 1) (link 2)
South Korea 22: SC First Bank�s striking workers to fly to London for protest (link 1)
South Korea 23: Umbrella labor group holds rally against shipbuilder's layoff (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
South Korea 25: Hope Bus riders� numbers multiply thousand-fold as Day 200 arrives (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
South Korea 26: Global support for Korean strikers as they picket Standard Chartered UK headquarters (link 1)
South Korea 27: Kia union rejects wage deal; Hyundai talks collapse (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
South Korea 30: S.Korea police on alert ahead of shipyard march (link 1)
South Korea 31: Stop the prosecution and harassment of public workers (link 1)
South Korea 31: 'Hope Bus' rally ends without major clash (link 1)
South Korea 31: Stop the prosecution and harassment of Korean public workers (link 1)
Taiwan 7: Rights groups protest against expropriation (link 1)
Taiwan 10: Residents protest demolitions (link 1)
Taiwan 11: National teachers union opens for business (link 1) (link 2)
Taiwan 16: Taiwanese farmers protest land seizure plans (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Taiwan 29: Farmers protest aqueduct project (link 1) (link 2)
Thailand 7: 3 sacked KFC staff take case to mediation (link 1)
Thailand 7: Burmese workers in Thailand demonstrate against low wages (link 1) (link 2)
Thailand 10: Evicted squatters step up demands for land (link 1)
Thailand 30: Activist Murdered: Human Rights Call for Arrest of Killers (link 1)
Thailand 30: SRT to sack 7 union bosses - Compensation of B15m set for ordering strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
Vietnam 13: Strike leader in HCMC attacked (link 1)
Vietnam 15: Vietnam: Massive strikes by footwear workers � 20 workers arrested (link 1)
Vietnam 20: Strikes increasing daily in Vietnam as inflation soars (link 1)
Vietnam 20: Farmers strike over planned golf courses, industrial parks (link 1)

All reports ordered by country and date:

-Analysis

11: Peasant struggle in Indonesia (in German, second link is machine translation) (link 1) (link 2)
19: Maoism may have faded in China, but it still speaks to the world's poor (link 1)

-History

22: My Disillusionment: China, 1973 by Perry Link (link 1)

-libcom articles

6: Striking Indonesian mine workers occupy checkpoint (link 1)

-WSWS Asia

9: Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific (link 1)
16: Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific (link 1)
23: Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific 23rd of July (link 1)
30: Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific (link 1)

Burma/Myanmar

25: Local people protest coal mining in eastern Shan State (link 1)

Cambodia

1: Labour dispute: City Hall bans June Textile rally (link 1)
8: Unions unite on draft law (link 1)
11: Evicted residents protest at Cambodian groundbreaking (link 1) (link 2)
12: Lakeside construction begins (link 1)
12: Ministry Denies Bias in Draft Labor Law (link 1)
18: Unions vow June Textile protest (link 1)
21: Migrant worker study reveals mass stigma (link 1)
22: Supertex workers in new strike (link 1)
25: Union Wants Answers for Raft of Fainting Episodes (link 1)
25: June Textile to pay workers (link 1)
25: Beer girls brew Angkor strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
26: Cambodia's Young, Independent New Unions Challenge the Status Quo and Win (link 1)
28: Agreement Reached between BWTUC and TSO Management in Cambodia (link 1)
28: Armed police crack down on protest (link 1) (link 2)

China

1: China Clamps Down on Protests in Restive Worker Region (link 1)
1: Thousands March in Hong Kong (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10) (link 11) (link 12)
4: Chengguan: China's unloved workers plead for understanding (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
4: Fears For Press Freedoms (HK) (link 1)
4: China�s migrant workers stand up against system (link 1)
4: Park protectors blame wage law for chop - The Standard (link 1)
5: Repress or Reform: With Protests on Rise, Beijing Faces Choice (link 1)
5: Show of Unity on Anniversary (link 1)
5: Shanghai Bomb Explodes in Supermarket (link 1)
6: China�s �Sharp Sword for Punishing Corrupt Officials� (link 1)
6: Amid China�s Economic Transformation, Many Farmers Struggle (link 1)
6: Beijing Flooded With Petitions (link 1)
7: China fires officials, charges 11 over Guangdong riot-media (link 1)
7: Unions rail against MTR `unfair' pay rises (link 1) (link 2)
8: Anger Over Water Shortage (link 1)
9: China's Bumpy Road Ahead (link 1)
11: China: Repression or �reform�? (link 1)
11: Ethnic Mongol Activist, Family Held (link 1)
12: Chinese court jails six for role in Guangdong riot (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
12: Guangzhou to set up migrant workers museum (link 1)
13: Chinese activist sentenced for "inciting to subvert state power" (link 1)
14: Beijing Continues Jasmine Clampdown (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
14: Hong Kong Police Criticized for Arresting Reporters & Rights Observers (link 1) (link 2)
14: Minimum wage protesters disrupt Link affair (link 1)
15: Villager Crushed by Excavator in Jiangxi Province Land Dispute (link 1) (link 2)
16: Abuses in Tech Industry in China Exposed (link 1)
18: Media Report Uncovers Use of Starvation in Detention Camp (link 1)
18: Death Sentence Upheld for Forklift Driver over Murder in China's Inner Mongolia (link 1)
18: China police station attack leaves several dead in Xinjiang (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)
19: Gao Release Date Nears (link 1)
20: Another death at Foxconn in Shenzhen (link 1)
20: A riot that could easily have been avoided � a report from Chaozhou (link 1)
20: Counterpoint: Debunking Myths About China (link 1)
20: Dangerous Elements: Heavy Metal Pollution in China (link 1)
20: Are China and Others Abusing Interpol? (link 1)
20: Discontent grows in Hong Kong despite boom (link 1)
22: Account of Chaozhou riot, possibly mentioning "underground association" (in Chinese) (link 1)
22: Should China create a law on strike? (link 1)
25: Villagers Tie up Police, Douse with Gasoline, Over Land Conflict (link 1) (link 2)
25: Fresh Protests in Inner Mongolia (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
26: A new wave of factory closures threatened in China (link 1)
26: Public Fury Follows Chinese Rail Disaster (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)
27: Meet China�s Other Dissidents: Wang Lihong (link 1)
27: China Fruit Seller Death Sparks Riot in Guizhou (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10)
28: Official detained after Chinese vendor's death sparks riot (link 1)
28: After Deadly Train Crash in China, Critics Claim State Cover-Up (Updated) (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8)
29: Abuse of the labour supply system rampant in Dongguan (link 1)
29: Journalist Tells of Police Detention, Beating after Reporting Riots (link 1)
30: Chinese Lawyers Attacked for Investigating Local Case (link 1)
30: Directives from the Ministry of Truth: The Beijing Subway Signal System (link 1)
30: Union claims unfair treatment of mainland care workers (link 1)
31: Chinese Media Muzzled after Day of Glory (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
31: China will implode if it doesn't change its authoritarian ways (link 1)
31: Ex-Students Protest Broken Pact (link 1)

Indonesia

1: Hundreds of Employees PT Tipota Strike (link 1)
4: Thousands of Freeport Indonesia mine workers start 7-day strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8)
5: Workers say strike hits output at Freeport Indonesia mine (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
7: Indonesian mine workers' strike intensifies (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
9: Indonesia: Travails Of Migrant Workers - Analysis (link 1)
9: Strike extended at Freeport McMoRan Indonesia mine (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
11: Papua mine strike enters second week (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
12: Freeport Indonesia workers stay on strike as union demands more (link 1) (link 2)
12: Strike at Freeport\'s Grasberg Mine Ends (link 1) (link 2)
13: Hundreds of office workers the State Electricity Company (PLN) branch of the city of Makassar on strike (link 1)
13: Thousands of Goods Truck Driver Strike (link 1)
13: Oil Workers Strike (link 1)
15: Freeport Indonesia production, shipments resume-workers (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
18: Garment workers struggle in Indonesia (link 1)
18: Indonesia Mine Union Wins Strike, Reinstatement of Sacked Union Leaders (link 1)
19: Thousands of retired employees of the state plantation PTPN IX, PTPN II demonstrated for housing (link 1)
22: Freeport Indonesia, union pay talks enter third day (link 1)
26: Indonesian Paperworkers On Strike at Japanese Marubeni Pulp Mill (link 1)
28: Minister meets Garuda management, pilots after strike (link 1)
28: Garuda Indonesia pilot strike ends early, few delays (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)

Japan

14: Trade Unions Call on Japan to Eliminate Nuclear Energy Use (link 1)
29: ITF protest over job cuts at Japan airline (link 1) (link 2)

Malaysia

5: Malaysians bring their protest to Lynas HQ (link 1) (link 2)
8: Malaysia to lock down largest city to block rally (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10)
9: Malaysian protesters draw on a long history of resistance (link 1)
9: Malaysia fires tear gas at protest, arrests 1,667 (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)
9: Bersih rally goes global (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
10: Protester dies, Malaysia frees 1,600 demonstrators (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
11: Malaysia to probe protest police brutality claims (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)
13: Tough Response to Calls for Clean Elections in Malaysia (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)
15: Malaysia: Facebook Netizens Want Prime Minister to Resign · Global Voices (link 1) (link 2)
16: Analysts: Bad press won�t unseat Najib (link 1)
23: Malaysian government cracks down on opposition protesters (link 1)
28: A miracle happened on July 9 (link 1)
28: Activists fear abuse in Malaysian labor amnesty (link 1)
30: Get out! RUM tells KTMB boss (link 1)

Mongolia

7: Mongolia herder on mission to tackle mining firms (link 1)

North Korea

29: Portrait of a North Korean propagandist turned protest artist (link 1)

Papua New Guinea

25: Census workers rampage (link 1)

Philippines

1: Davao mayor \'mauls\' sheriff over violent demolition (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
2: Greeks' woes are Pinoys', too (link 1)
5: Laborers protest working condition inside Hanjin (link 1)
5: Multinational firm's mass dismissal of workers condemned (link 1)
6: Agency workers in Cebu ecozone form union (link 1)
7: Luisita tillers want land (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
9: Mayor Sara punched not just the sheriff but an anti-poor legal system (link 1)
11: Peasants from poor countries shout �Fight for land against land grabbing, landlordism, state terrorism, imperialism� (link 1)
11: Farmers set to march vs Luisita vote (link 1)
12: Workers' group to hold rally on gov't labor export policy (link 1)
12: Alliance of Coca-Cola Unions Philippines (ACCUP) rolls back casualization (link 1)
13: Linking the Struggle of Philippine and South Korean Workers Against Hanjin (link 1)
22: Worsening conditions for the Filipino worker (link 1)
23: Strike looms anew at
Dumaguete port (link 1)
25: Industrial, labor group peaceful rally today against BFAR at R.T. Lim (link 1)
25: Thousands rally at Noy's SONA (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10)
25: Surveillance on a labour leader in Laguna (link 1)
26: Cannery workers protest new BFAR rule (link 1)
26: The U.P. Workers: 166 Contractual Workers Summarily Dismissed by DOH Seek �Justice� (link 1)
27: APL condemns ASIAPRO, among other so-named �labor cooperatives� (link 1)
29: Farmers call on new Ombudsman to reopen Hacienda Luisita massacre case (link 1)

Singapore

7: SIA avoids pilot strike in last-ditch compromise (link 1)
8: PRC worker charged for solo protest (link 1) (link 2)

South Korea

1: Hongik Univ. under fire for suing cleaners (link 1)
1: Hopes and fears for multiple unions (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
7: GM Korea unionists go on partial strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
8: South Korea: Human rights abuses by business enterprises (link 1)
9: StanChart's S.Korea bank to shut branches in dispute (link 1) (link 2)
9: Bus strike over after agreement with union (link 1) (link 2)
10: 11 people charged with forming anti-state entity (link 1)
10: Protesters, police clash in South Korea (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
11: Hope Bus, an �icon of resistance� rooted in insecure society (link 1)
11: GM Korea workers back after weekend stoppage over wages (link 1)
11: S. Korea bank to shut some branches due to strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
12: Woman striker rallies Korea workers from the top of a crane (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
13: GM Korea agrees on record bonus to settle labor strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
14: Samsung: labour challenge (link 1) (link 2)
15: Busan strike draws the disgruntled (link 1)
15: 'Who�s blinking first' game at SC First (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
15: Unions and civic organizations unite to promote welfare state (link 1)
15: More activists arrested at Jeju naval base protest site (link 1)
16: Korea: Stop police assault on Hanjin workers, free jailed trade unionists (link 1)
18: S.Korea urges StanChart local unit to end long labour dispute (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
19: Jo Jang-hui, vice chairman of Samsung labor union, fired; Certification of union establishment issued (link 1)
20: Hyundai holding out for favorable irregular worker court ruling, experts say (link 1)
22: SC First Bank strike persists as talks break down (link 1)
22: `Hope Bus` campaign near Busan (link 1) (link 2)
22: SC First Bank�s striking workers to fly to London for protest (link 1)
23: Umbrella labor group holds rally against shipbuilder's layoff (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
25: SC First chief pledges to resolve strike this week (link 1) (link 2)
25: Yongmin's Cartoon �Hope Bus movement evolving into a new enlarged phase� (link 1)
25: Korean workers union to hold protests outside U.S. bases (link 1)
25: Hyundai document strengthens claims of illegal union busting tactics (link 1)
25: Hope Bus riders� numbers multiply thousand-fold as Day 200 arrives (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
26: KEB union plays rough on CEO (link 1)
26: Xenophobic groups grow more vocal (link 1)
26: South Korea's Lady on the Crane (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
26: Global support for Korean strikers as they picket Standard Chartered UK headquarters (link 1)
27: SC First strike setting off meritocracy debate (link 1)
27: Kia union rejects wage deal; Hyundai talks collapse (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
28: Overseas express solidarity with Kim Jin-suk (link 1)
29: Bank union files OECD complaint over Standard Chartered's pay plan (link 1)
30: HHIC chairman remains overseas despite bipartisan summons to National Assembly (link 1)
30: S.Korea police on alert ahead of shipyard march (link 1)
31: Stop the prosecution and harassment of public workers (link 1)
31: 'Hope Bus' rally ends without major clash (link 1)
31: Stop the prosecution and harassment of Korean public workers (link 1)

Taiwan

7: Rights groups protest against expropriation (link 1)
10: Residents protest demolitions (link 1)
11: Local residents pan �Manhattan Riverside� plan (link 1)
11: Aborigines continue to protest against new hotel (link 1)
11: National teachers union opens for business (link 1) (link 2)
12: Nation�s teachers set up first legal trade union - Taipei Times (link 1)
16: Taiwanese farmers protest land seizure plans (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
19: Fishermen's union plans protest to push for report on skipper's death (link 1)
21: Labor groups turn out in force to influence minimum wage meeting (link 1) (link 2)
29: Farmers protest aqueduct project (link 1) (link 2)

Thailand

3: More pressure needed to release Thai Human Rights activist (link 1)
6: 110,000 illegal workers register (link 1)
7: 3 sacked KFC staff take case to mediation (link 1)
7: Burmese workers in Thailand demonstrate against low wages (link 1) (link 2)
10: Evicted squatters step up demands for land (link 1)
11: Govt wage plan faulted (link 1)
12: Workers Riot at Chicken Factory (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
17: Gulf villagers threaten protest (link 1)
30: Activist Murdered: Human Rights Call for Arrest of Killers (link 1)
30: SRT to sack 7 union bosses - Compensation of B15m set for ordering strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)

Vietnam

13: Strike leader in HCMC attacked (link 1)
15: �Listen to the workers� (link 1)
15: Vietnam: Massive strikes by footwear workers � 20 workers arrested (link 1)
19: Vietnam workers strike for higher pay (link 1)
20: Strikes increasing daily in Vietnam as inflation soars (link 1)
20: Farmers strike over planned golf courses, industrial parks (link 1)
21: Beating death highlights Vietnam police 'abuse' (link 1)