In recent years, the Chinese government has launched crackdowns on human rights activists and civil society, and labor rights activists have also been targeted. In 2018, workers at Shenzhen Jasic Technology attempted to unionize to address rights violations at the factory, and were heavily repressed by the factory and authorities. Several workers were dismissed and protests subsequently broke out. Many Marxist and Maoist university students came to support workers, forming the Jasic Workers Solidarity Group, and were later and arrested. However, the crackdown was not limited to those who had participated in protests and continued into 2019. Some have yet to be released or sentenced. For many years, labor activists have been advocating for the rights of workers, providing training and legal advice to workers, especially as the government and union officials have failed to protect workers' interests. Rights violations across factories and industries in China remain rampant.
The following are the labor activists who have been detained since 2018:
Li Zhan, Liu Penghua, Mi Jiuping And Yu Juncong
In May 2018, workers at Shenzhen Jasic Technology attempted to form a union at the factory to improve working conditions. The factory retaliated against workers, dismissing several of them. Li Zhan, Liu Penghua, Mi Jiuping and Yu Juncong were later detained in July for their organizing efforts. A number of workers, students and activists were also later detained for supporting the protests. They were detained on July 27, 2018 for gathering a crowd to disrupt public order. It is unknown whether they have been released or sentenced.
Fu Changguo
Fu Changguo reportedly had shared news on the Jasic workers’ activities on social media. He was a staff member of Dagongzhe Workers’ Centre in Shenzhen. Chinese state media accused Dagongzhe of instigating the protests at Jasic. Dagongzhe and its partner NGO in Hong Kong, Worker Empowerment issued a statement, denying they had organized the protests. Fu Changguo was detained on August 10, 2018 gathering a crowd to disrupt public order. It is unknown whether he has been released or sentenced.
Yue Xin
Background information about this person: Yue Xin was one of many student activists who had supported the Jasic protests and a member of the Jasic Workers Solidarity Group. She was seized by police in August 2018. In January 2019, a video was released showing Yue Xin and three students who had been disappeared, in which they “admitted” to so-called illegal behavior. The confessions are believed to be coerced. Yue Xin was also a feminist activist. Earlier in the year she had demanded Peking University make public their investigations into a rape case from over 20 years ago. Yue Xin was detained on August 24, 2018. It is unknown whether she has been released or sentenced.
Shen Mengyu
Background information about this person: After graduating from Sun Yat Sen University, Shen Mengyu went to work at a car parts factory in Guangzhou, but was fired after she attempted to organize workers. She was one of the leading activists in the Jasic protests and a member of the Jasic Workers Solidarity Group. However, she and three other students, Yue Xin, Gu Jiayue and Zheng Yongming, were detained in August 2018. In January,2019, the activists confessed their crime in a video of around 30 minutes. The confessions are believed to be coerced. Shen Mengyu was detained on August 24th, 2018. It is unknown whether she has been released or sentenced.
Zhang Zhiru
Background information about this person: Zhang is a leading labor activist in Guangdong and was seized on the same day four additional labor activists were detained. He was the director of Shenzhen Chunfeng Labour Dispute Service Centre, and has provided assistance to workers in labor disputes and strikes over the years. He was detained for two days for assisting workers in the 2014 Yue Yuen shoe factory strike. Zhang Zhiru was detained on January 20, 2019 for gathering a crowd to disrupt public order. He was released on April 24, 2020, and sentenced to three years prison sentence, suspended for four years.
Wu Guijun
Wu Guijun began working on labor rights issues in 2006. He worked at a Hong Kong-owned furniture manufacturer in 2004, and later organized workers at the factory to go on strike in 2013. The factory refused to provide compensation for workers who were laid off following their decision to relocate. He was detained for his involvement in the strike and accused “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order”, and was released after a year with no charges. Wu Guijun was detained on January 20,2019 for gathering a crowd to disrupt public order. He was released on April 24, 2020 and sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years.
Jian Hui, Song Jiahui
Jian Hui and Song Jiahui were two former staff members of Zhang Zhiru’s NGO, Shenzhen Chunfeng Labour Dispute Service Centre. The two were detained on January 20, 2019 for gathering a crowd to disrupt public order. They were released on April 24, 2020 and sentenced to 18 months, suspended for two years.
He Yuancheng
He Yuancheng was a legal assistant at Guangdong Workers Protection Law Firm and former editor of the Collective Bargaining Forum. He was detained on January 20, 2019 for gathering a crowd to disrupt public order. He was released on April 24, 2020 and sentenced to 18 month sentence, suspended for two years.
Wei Zhili
Wei Zhili is a labor activist and also an advocate for feminist issues. He is one of the editors of an online labor rights advocacy platform called iLabour and helped its launch in 2013. He has been attentive to labor issues since high school. After graduating in 2010, he join Hand-in-Hand Workers’ Activity Center in Shenzhen. Together with Yang Zhengjun and Ke Chengbing, he was active in helping workers who contracted pneumoconiosis. He was detained on January 8, 2019 for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. It is unknown whether he has been released or sentenced.
Yang Zhengjun
During his undergraduate studies, Yang Zhengjun started to join students for labor issues. When he studied his master’s degree, he initiated the “student Coca-cola concern group” in order to improve the working conditions in Coca Cola supplier factories. He helped launch iLabour in 2013 and served as editor of chief since 2017. He was detained on January 8th, 2019 for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. It is unknown whether he has been released or sentenced.
Ke Chengbing
Ke Chengbing is a labor right defender and helped launch iLabour in 2013. He focus on grassroot rural human right issues in his bachelor’s degree. After graduation in 2012, he also researched Foxconn’s worker suicide incidents. He was detained on March 20, 2019 for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. It is unknown whether he has been released or sentenced.
Chen Weixiang
Chen Weixiang ran a WeChat account called “Heart Sanitation” , which supports sanitation workers in Guangzhou on how to deal with the labor issues they encounter. He is the son of migrant workers and has a master’s degree in labor from the U.S. In 2019 December, he and his assistant were arrested. He was detained on December 17, 2019 for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. He was released after 15 days
Ling Jianhua
Ling Jianhua was a labor activist, and was taken away by police when he was working at the Wah Tung (He Yuan) Toy Manufacturing Ltd. Co factory on June 19, 2019. On November 22th 2019, he was formally arrested for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. It is unknown whether he has been released or sentenced.