We write to request your urgent, immediate intervention with Chinese authorities at the highest levels to express the ILO's grave concern about two Chinese workers due to go on trial imminently on charges of subversion.
Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang were detained in March 2002 in connection with their roles as worker representatives in Liaoyang in northeast China. Large, orderly, and non-violent demonstrations took place over several weeks as laid-off and unemployed workers took to the streets to express long-standing grievances related to such issues as unpaid pensions and wages, loss of benefits, and corruption. Human Rights Watch published an extensive report last August documenting worker unrest in three cities in Northeast China.
Four of the protest organizers, including Yao and Xiao, were detained and on March 21, 2002, indicted for "illegal assembly, marches, and protests." Although the demonstrations did not have the advance police permission required by law, workers believed that permission was highly unlikely to be granted, and indeed, China has a long record of disallowing and severely punishing organized public demonstrations against government policy. Workers also feared that demands for the application to include the names and addresses of the demonstration's sponsors would put them at grave risk.
On January 1, 2003, according to an attorney representing the defendants and to officials of the Liaoyang Intermediate People's Court, prosecution documents unexpectedly charged Yao and Xiao with the far more serious crime of subversion. Their trial is expected to take place on January 15. Subversion charges can result in long prison terms or death sentences. There is no evidence that the demonstrators or organizers, in either their protests or interactions with government officials, acted with intent to overthrow the state, or in the words of the law, "organized, plotted, or acted to subvert the political power of the state and overthrow the socialist system." The government appears to be using the charge of subversion to make an example of these two labor activists and discourage further protests by disaffected workers.
As a member of the ILO, China must be held accountable for its international obligations to uphold the rights of workers, including the core right of freedom of association. These high profile prosecutions are a direct threat to the rights of all Chinese workers.
We urge you to immediately call on Chinese authorities in Beijing to drop all charges against Yao and Xiao and urge their immediate and unconditional release. In addition, it would be useful for the ILO to reiterate its proposal to send a direct contact mission to China to assist in reforming its labor laws and practices to bring them into conformity with international freedom of association standards.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Brad Adams
Executive Director, Asia Division
