Labour activist knifed in Shenzhen, China

Submitted by amrc on Thu, 01/17/2008 - 17:50.

Appeal

On 20 November, worker organiser and legal advisor Huang Qingnan was attacked in broad daylight after he left the Dagongzhe Migrant Worker Centre where he provides labour law education and free legal consultation.

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Condemnation against continued violence directed at a Shenzhen labour group

In the recent weeks, a series of violent attacks on a labour group and its legal person in Shenzhen. We are very upset, concerned and enraged about the recent development.

The Shenzhen Dagongzhe Migrant Worker Centre (DGZ Centre) has been long supported by the general public and Hong Kong groups. It provides a free library, labour law education and free legal consultation to migrant workers in Shenzhen. In recent months, it has been involved in promoting knowledge around the &quot;Labour Contract Law&quot;, a new law the national government is introducing to help safeguard workers; and it has provided legal advice in order to de-fuse the current growing tension between employers and workers.

On 11 Oct and 14 Nov 2007, a group of unknown and unidentified people came to destroy the properties of DGZ Centre. On 20 Nov, the legal person of the centre, Huang Qingnan was attacked by two people with choppers, on the way to visit a injured worker, just after he left the centre. Huang is seriously injured. In recent months, workers reported they had also been assaulted and verbally threatened by their employers when claiming their wages. Reports to the police have not met with success or interest. They were disappointed that the local government was behaving very indifferently.

The attacks on the centre and Mr. Huang prove that interest groups which are trying to paralyze the implementation of this law, distorting the central governments labour policies and revealing openly their dislike of independent labour organizations. If the DGZ Centre's case is not properly followed up and no proper investigation is undertaken, it will give a regrettable and worrying message that violent prevails. Civil groups in Shenzhen and also other parts of China would face more assaults and their development could be limited.

In order to develop a harmonious society, fairness and justice must be safeguarded. Therefore, the case of DGZ centre must be resolved and the safety of civil groups in China must be guaranteed.

We demand that the Central government &amp; the Shenzhen city government: 

Openly condemns &amp; investigates all violent incidents, and in particular the attack on Huang Qingnan;

Helps DGZ Centre to re-start its works and provides Huang Qingnan with appropriate medical treatment and rehabilitation;

Implements the national policy to maintain a harmonious labour relations, improves the protection of civil groups and their staff in order to prevent violent acts and maintain public security.