This is a short summary of the “Jasic Movement,” the wave of repression that followed, and the debate among left-wing groups in China on the current state of class struggles and forms of labor support in China.
It is followed by a list of selected articles on the “Jasic Movement” in English and Chinese.
[ESSF: The english articles mentioned have been included in the larger selection available at the following address
http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article52366]
In summer 2018, a group of Maoist activists and workers pushed for the formation of a legal workplace union in a factory of the welding equipment producer Jasic in Shenzhen, South China.
A series of confrontations in the factory between workers and management about bad working conditions and dismissals followed. The conflict escalated further when the police intervened and arrested several Jasic workers and supporters.
A support campaign was started, and dozens of Maoist students from various universities were mobilized to go to Shenzhen and organize solidarity actions.
This led to an intensified police crackdown with dozens of more arrests.
The repression was expanded further as Maoist student activists as well as labor activists from different political currents were arrested in various waves in the second half of 2018 and throughout 2019.
China’s state security apparatus used the occasion given by the Jasic dispute to tighten the screw on left-wing resistance. It targeted the growing circle of left-wing activists – workers, students, and former students, who had begun to intervene in workplace struggles since the early 2010s. In South China, these activists have played an certain role in organizing support, for instance, for workers who claimed wage arrears or compensation for work-related injuries or diseases.
The wave of repression can be seen as part of the state’s general campaign against left-wing opposition that started in 2015 which has hit various other groups involved in social resistance as well, for instance, feminist activists who fight against sexual harassment and other forms of sexualized violence in China.
The particular case of the “Jasic Movement” as well as the general class confrontation in China are the subjects of various debates within different left-wing currents inside and outside China.
Issues range from:
a) the current state of China’s capitalism in this crisis-prone time,
b) the development of class struggles, and, in particular, labor unrest,
c) the state’s adapted strategy of concession, repression, and cooptation,
d) the composition, tactics, and debates of various left-wing activist circles in China.
All points are important and deserve attention, but it is the last point that is often neglected or overseen, especially outside the circles involved in immediate struggles.
The list of selected texts below is meant to push for an open debate on the different left-wing currents, their composition and tactics.
Besides documenting the “Jasic Movement” and its aftermath, the texts reflect some of the positions of the Maoist activists behind the Jasic intervention and the critique of other left-wing groups and currents regarding
a) the role of student (or outside) leaders,
b) the politicization or ideological charging of workplace conflicts,
c) the provoked escalation and police repression,
d) the (weak) workers’ support of the activists at Jasic,
e) the role of “intellectuals” and outside support,
f) the strategy of inquiry and intervention,
g) the methods of dealing with state repression.
Two recently translated interviews touch several of these issues :
– Pun Ngai’s response to criticism: “Don’t let them sacrifice in vain” (1),
– the interview with Chris Chan – “Student activists who intervene in factories should adjust their steps once more”. (2)
This list will be updated.
[ESSF: All the english articles have been included in the larger selection available at the following address :
http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article52366].
Notes :
1. Pun Ngai: “Don’t let them sacrifice in vain” (2019-05-16)
http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article52352
2. Chris Chan: Student activists who intervene in factories should adjust their steps once more (2019-05-22)
http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article52344