Han Dongfang
Han Dongfang (韩东方, Hán Dongfang; b. 1963 in Beijing) is a Chinese labor activist and trade unionist. He lives in Hong Kong since 1993 and manages the Internet magazine China Labour Bulletin reports about the situation of workers in the People's Republic of China.
Life
Han Dongfang went to finishing school in 1980 volunteered for the army in order to follow the example of the 1963 throughout China for his self-sacrificing commitment to others and the public revered as a hero soldier Lei Feng. He served in a division of the military police, was responsible for the supervision of the prisons in the Beijing area, and was actually awarded as a model soldier. Disillusioned by the army in the rampant corruption, he began increasingly to mind his work into question. His repeated requests for membership in the Communist Party of China have been rejected. Han acknowledged in 1984 the military service, worked for a time in a Beijing university library and then at the track, where he was trained as an electrician. On April 16, 1989 he got into Beijing happen to be in contact with students who had just started their demonstration on Tiananmen Square, and learned from them about their democratic demands. As the students were interested in the support of the working class, Han seemed to be a middleman. He completed around the 20th of May, the newly founded the Beijing Autonomous Workers Union and was elected its speaker.
After the violent crackdown on the protest movement on June 4, 1989 Han Dongfang Beijing left with the intention for some time to travel through the country to gather information on the situation of workers and peasants. After two weeks, he realized that was wanted for him, and decided to return to Beijing to provide voluntarily to the police. He was then held 22 months without trial in detention, during which he fell ill with a severe tuberculosis, which could not be treated in China. For medical reasons released, he was able to travel with the support of the American trade union federation AFL -CIO in 1992 for treatment in the United States. There he converted to Christianity. In 1993, he tried to return to Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China, by their authorities but was quickly identified and deported back to Hong Kong. In 1994 he began the publication of the China Labour Bulletin (中国 劳工 通讯Zhongguo Laogong Tongxun ), which initially appeared in print and was transformed into an online magazine from 1999. Since March 1997 Han is presenter of programs about problems of workers in China on Radio Free Asia, on which listeners can participate by telephone. Han Dongfang and his staff offer Chinese workers legal advice on ways to safeguard their interests.
After Hong Kong, after the expiry of the lease, the British colonial administration connected as a Special Administrative Region of the People 's Republic of China in 1997 and Han naturalized in this way again, the Chinese central government, the urgency of the problems publicized by him has increasingly recognized and him several times to return to Mainland China offered. He has this possibility has not perceived, but noticed a growing interest from the Chinese authorities to cooperate. In particular, since the appointment of Hu Jintao as general secretary of the CCP and President (2002/2003), the political leadership of the People's Republic attaches great importance to social stability and improving the economic and legal situation of workers and farmers to stop growing unrest halt. Hans broadcasts are listened to attentively not only of millions of workers and peasants, but also by members of the government that there information on conflicts, which are represented poorly in the Chinese media.
Political positions
Han Dongfang recommends his countrymen, peaceful proceed under the laws of the People's Republic of China and to expand the legal scope for action to ( etc. minimum wages, health and safety regulations ) impose on the paper existing, but in practice often ignored claims and the legal creation of an independent trade union movement allow: "My dream is a system that allows workers and employers to negotiate with each other. Independent trade unions come then by itself " moment he feels particularly as regards the organization of the workers in the foreign-owned companies in the private business sector. From the Chinese government, he calls in the first place, take an open dialogue with workers and peasants. He considers not as " dissidents " and distances itself from intellectuals who want to use the dissatisfaction of workers only as a means to get themselves into power, to defend themselves against claims by workers' democracy and justify the closure of state-owned enterprises with the " laziness " of the workers.
From the international community calls Han Dongfang:
- " that the Western countries, who have great influence in the WTO, the protection of human rights in the world, not only in China, promote themselves by making use of the inclusion of a based on the internationally recognized workers' rights social clause in the contracts," and
- " if it is possible in your legal system and your society, the government, influence society organizations, trade unions, media, etc. transnational corporations should establish codes of conduct for investment would. "
Awards
Han Dongfang was awarded