Worker Rights
February 16, 2022
(Washington)—Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) today released a letter to Amazon asking the company to support labor rights activist Tang Mingfang’s court appeal for exoneration and compensation.Tang spent two years in prison, and was reportedly tortured, for exposing labor abuses at a Hengyang Foxconn factory producing Amazon products. CECC Commissioners and ranking minority members Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) joined the bipartisan letter with the Chairs.
“Unprecedented” Detentions of Labor Rights Advocates
The following Chinese text was retrieved on November 30, 2016, from the website of Shanghai Administration of Work Safety.
Refer to this page for a prior version of the PRC Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases Law, passed on October 27, 2001, and effective on May 1, 2002.
On December 3, 2015, public security officials in Guangzhou and Foshan municipalities detained at least 18 labor rights advocates affiliated with several labor NGOs.[1] On December 15, the international human rights NGO Rights Defense Network (RDN) reported that local police had criminally detained Zeng Feiyang, Zhu Xiaomei, He Xiaobo, Peng Jiayong, and Deng Xiaoming, and taken Meng Han and Tang Jian into custody.[2] On December 22, an article appearing in the state-run news agency Xinhua reported that police had taken “criminal coercive measures” against seven individuals: Zeng Feiyang, Zhu Xiaomei, He Xiaobo, Meng Han, Peng Jiayong, Deng Xiaoming, and Tang Jian.[3] RDN reported on January 8 that procuratorates in Foshan and Panyu district, Guangzhou, had approved the arrests of Zeng, Zhu, He, and Meng.[4] Authorities released Deng and
The vast majority of toys bought and sold in the United States are made in China. In November, the labor rights NGO, China Labor Watch, issued a report alleging poor working conditions at four Chinese factories that manufacture toys for several major toy companies and retailers. This hearing will examine these allegations, what the toy industry is doing to audit factories in China and address reports of poor working conditions, and the effectiveness of private-sector auditing and business codes of conduct in China.
RSVP is required for non-congressional staff. Email RSVP to: deidre.jackson@mail.house.gov
The following Chinese text was retrieved on December 1, 2016, from the website of the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the People's Republic of China in Ecuador.
Refer to this page for the prior version of the PRC Work Safety Law, passed on June 29, 2002, and effective on November 1, 2002.
On May 23, 2013, public security officials in Bao’an district, Shenzhen city, Guangdong province, detained migrant worker Wu Guijun, after he reportedly participated in a local Bao’an labor protest.[1] Employed at the Diweixin manufacturing factory (“Diweixin”) in Bao’an, Wu was one of seven elected labor representatives negotiating with factory management on a resolution to a near month-long labor dispute. Workers staged a public protest after management failed to agree to collective bargaining demands, including worker compensation for a proposed factory closure. As a result of the protest, authorities detained a number of protesters, including Wu. According to his lawyer, Wu now faces possible criminal prosecution for “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order,” a crime punishable by three to seven years’ imprisonment under Article 290 of the PRC Criminal Law.[2]
Background on Wu’s Case