Open
World Conference of Workers
In Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights
Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang to be tried for subversion on January 15 !
EMERGENCY... EMERGENCY...EMERGENCY... EMERGENCY...
International Appeal
Please circulate for endorsement and return to
eit.ilc@wanadoo.fr
or clb@china-Labour.org.hk
or mikeyy@hkctu.org.hk
For the immediate release of Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang!
For the immediate dropping of all charges!
The international delegation to Liaoyang (China), which in May 2002
delivered thousands of signatures of labour militant activists from more
than 35 countries calling for the immediate release of the four worker
delegates arrested in Laioyang, has learned with astonishment that Yao
Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang have now been charged with subversion and are to
be tried on January 15, 2003.
The delegation expresses its gravest concern at these developments, which
carry incalculable consequences. The four Laioyang worker delegates -- Yao
Fuxin, Xiao Yunliang, Wang Zhaoming and Pang Qingxiang -- had been
arrested and imprisoned in March 2002 after demonstrating to demand the
payment of their wage arrears.
For months they were held in detention in contravention of ILO Conventions
98 and 87, which provide for the right to organise in the trade union of
one's choice and to negotiate collectively. Their claims and demands were
legitimate.
Under current law in the People's Republic of China, the four worker
delegates should have been either charged or set free by 24 October 2002
at the latest.
After 24 October 2002, a new point was reached when it was asserted that
the imprisoned workers' representatives had been involved in acts of
destruction.
Enquiries carried out by the local authorities, local representatives of
the official trade union and the police established definitively that they
had been involved in nothing of the sort. The representatives who were
questioned during the enquiries all declared that they had never heard of
such acts.
Were these unfounded allegations not simply an attempt to explain the
continuing detention of the imprisoned workers' representatives, which was
not justified under Chinese law?
On 20 December of last year, the delegation duly noted the release of Wang
Zhaoming and Pang Qingxiang, and the dropping of the charges against them.
Reason seemed to have prevailed.
Today, a new charge has been formulated: subversion.
Must it be understood that it was necessary to invent a new motive, at the
risk of transforming what was a labour dispute into a state issue at a
time when increasing concern is being expressed from every quarter over
the deepening social instability in China?
It is for the highest state authorities to re-establish the truth by
ensuring the release of Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang and the dropping of
all charges against them.
It would be to the credit of the Chinese authorities if they were to free
and drop all charges against the delegates, whose only crime is to have
used the traditional means of the working class for defending their claims
whilst respecting the law.
The delegation from the international labour movement went to Liaoyang to
deliver thousands of signatures gathered within the labour movement around
the world, as part of an international campaign launched on the initiative
of China Labour Bulletin (CLB) and the International Liaison Committee of
Workers and Peoples (ILC).
On 10 July 2002, on the international day of action for the release of the
four worker delegates of Liaoyang -- organised on the initiative of China
Labour Bulletin, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) and
the ILC -- delegations to Chinese embassies and consulates were organised
by trade unionists in 27 countries.
The international delegation today reaffirms what it declared in China to
the Chinese authorities: our initiative is not guided by any hostility
whatsoever towards the Chinese people and the People's Republic of China;
rather its only concern is that justice be done for the worker delegates
who used the legitimate means used by the working class to support its
demands.
We repeat: reason should prevail, the charges should be dropped, Yao Fuxin
and Xiao Yunliang should be released.
The delegation hereby launches a solemn and urgent appeal to the
international labour movement to place Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang under
its protection.
For the immediate release of Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang!
For the immediate dropping of all charges!
An injury to one is an injury to all!
Please endorse and return to either
International Liaison Committee
: eit.ilc@wanadoo.fr
China Labour Bulletin: clb@china-Labour.org.hk
Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (ICFTU) : mikeyy@hkctu.org.hk
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(Please fill out and return to one of the email addresses above or to OWC
at <ilcinfo@earthlink.net>.
We will forward your endorsements to the ILC, the China Labour Bulletin
and the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions.)