Understanding Labor Activism in China

Abstract

Class struggle is developing and intensifying in China. It has become more and more common for Chinese workers in the private sector to make use of factory strikes to advance their rights and benefits, and such protests are also becoming more confrontational. It is well acknowledged that both state and capitalist suppression against labor struggles are strong and prevalent in China, and there is no democratic workers’ union and few working-class organizations actively supporting these worker struggles. However, in spite of such unfavorable conditions, we still witnessed an outburst of industrial strikes in Chinese factories in recent years. By launching factory strikes as a way to challenge institutional suppression, the Chinese working class has constituted a powerful force to affect not only business operations but also the policy development of the Chinese state.