Chinese Embassy in Berlin 28 August 2018
The Jasic Workers have asked for support
that is why we are here. Thank you all for coming!
I will shortly explain what happened between May and now.
May: Due to horrible working conditions
workers filed a joint complaint to the local Human Resources Department
and Federation of Trade Unions to address the problems.
however, the misbehaviors of Jasic factory
were not resolved.
(...) 27 July – workers continued to protest, sing solidarity songs.
At the Jasic factory door and police station
they deliver public speechs
to defend their rights to form a union.
however, in the afternoon of July 27th
29 people were arrested by armed police.
after the mass arrest, workers from other factories,
students, and leftists gathered in Shenzhen and form a concern group.
students from 16 universities initiated a online petition
and thousands of students and workers also signed it in support of the wokrers.
11th August –Shen Mengyu,
a former worker representative in a auto part factory
and also the key spokesperson of the concern group
was kidnapped and under house arrest since August 11th.
After the kidnapping of Mengyu
even more students travelled to Shenzhen
to join the concern group.
On August 24, 5AM
numbers of riot police with full gear and shields
violently broke into the rented house
of the Jasic concern group.
More than 5 workers and 50 students resisted
but failed.
At the same morning, in Beijing, another four people were arrested,
including two workers representatives of Jasic concern group
who went to bring a petition.
besides two workers who managed to see their lawyers in early August
none of the workers are being able to see their lawyers
due to authority’ harassments and threatening to the lawyers
to loose their licence if they represent Jasic workers.
We will now read some voices
of arrested workers and supporters
“Why me?
Because I saw the suffering of the brothers and sisters of my class.
I saw their determination and courage to struggle.
And when workers stood up
to fight for their own rights,
we also saw the real face of the boss,
the government, the Labor Bureau, and the police.
– Their ferocious face.
This made me have a totally different perspective on the world,
So when Jasic workers stand up,
I will stand up for sure
and resist!”
Mi Jiu Ping is one of the workers
who initiated the organizing of trade union in Jasic factory.
He was arrested on July 27th.
In early August, he was allowed to meet the lawyer once,
which is no longer allowed anymore.
The police asked him to write a confession letter,
and he wrote a poem “I and We” instead.
“I am walking alone among the crowd.
I am silent in the wild.
I lost love from my family, lover, and friends.
I lost everything.
I lost everything I had.
I will have love from my family,
lover, and friends back.
I will gain everything back.
Not Today, But in the near future.
I am not I
I and We.”
I have solidarity messages
i-e-here from Daimler:
Dear colleagues from China!
We, the workers from Daimler in Sindelfingen in South-Germany,
are in solidarity with you!
Also VW Workers sent a letter:
Dear colleagues, we, VW workers from Hannover
have known from your protest on the other side of the world.
We gathered in our break und we support you!
Everywhere in the world the right to form free unions
should be granted!
But it is not!
Your resistance deserves major respect.
That you so bravely fight for our human right
against such tremendous opression even inside your families!
we whish you the strenghth to go on with this!
Everybody has to be released and reinstated immediately!
Many kind regards from 15 colleagues of the car assembling line T6 at VW Hannover.
we have a letter for the chinese ambassador
that we will deliver now.
Could you please call back this gentleman?
He wants to deliver the letter! OK.
But those young people should stay here, please!
Hello? Yes?
You have to stay on this side!
We just want to escort our colleague...