Some international supporters of both the striking HK dock workers and the struggles against tar sands development in North America have set up a website to coordinate international solidarity actions and translate information about the strike. The following are (1) a brief overview of the stike, and (2) an explanation of the link to tar sands development they prepared for Earth Day (today). “As we think about the Tar Sands and fight the exploitation of native lands for a few people’s profits, remember Li Ka-Shing, who is one of those few, and the Hong Kong dock workers who also refuse to be exploited for his profit.” “Li Ka-Shing, the world’s 8th richest human being and the man who controls the Hong Kong docks, is not only the man Hong Kong’s dockworkers are fighting — he is also one of the people our anti-tar sand friends in North America need to be targeting…”

“Five hundred dockworkers are facing down the richest man in Hong Kong (and, according to Forbes, eighth-richest in the world) in a strike that has entered its third week and brought transport in the world’s third-busiest port to a virtual halt. Li Ka-shing, the billionaire behind Hongkong International Terminals (HIT), controls more than 70 percent of Hong Kong’s port container traffic and oversees a vast transnational network of enterprises including the oil and gas giant Husky. Arrayed against this financial titan often referred to as “Superman” are dockworkers exhausted by 12-hours shifts lacking even toilet breaks, surviving in one of the world’s most expensive cities on wages that haven’t risen in 15 years, and now waging a labor battle that observers are calling pivotal. The confrontation appears to have tapped a vein of indignation against the “greed economy” and its glaring inequalities, bringing the workers broad public support…” (Two reports on the strike.)

Reposted from Rekolektiv:

Reports from Wukan, Guangdong, the Chinese village in revolt against local government have generated more shocked gasps from the Anglophone media than in-depth reporting, resulting in a general paucity of information, let alone insightful analysis. But thanks to a 52-minute homemade video about the protest and one other report online at iSun Affairs we’re getting a little more detail. The following is a rudimentary translation of the timeline of events provided at the iSun report. I welcome any advice on the translation:

Against the backdrop of Liu Xiaobo being awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, this issue of CLNT highlights the case of Zhao Dongmin – a labor lawyer and Maoist who on 25 October 2010 was sentenced to three years in prison for applying to set up a workers’ organisation to monitor the privatization of state enterprises and alert the authorities about cases of corruption.

China Strikes is a great new site that maps labor unrest across China. It is easy to add strike reports to the map, and anyone can do that.
http://chinastrikes.crowdmap.com/
About This Site:

The purpose of this site is to track strikes, protests and other collective actions by Chinese workers to defend their rights and interests. We hope that over time the site will serve as a resource to those wishing to better understand and support the labor movement in China.
The categories we use for strikes are based on the type of …