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<h2>wsws.org:<br>
</h2>
<h2>Chinese worker writes on the coronavirus pandemic: “Disaffection
is growing among the masses”</h2>
<h5> By a correspondent <br>
23 March 2020 </h5>
<p><em>A correspondent in China sent the following notes on the
rising political and class tensions in that country produced by
the worsening global COVID-19 pandemic and the repressive
response of the Beijing regime.</em></p>
<p>1. China’s authoritarian government has blocked every city and
even every street by brutal means. Every aspect of people’s lives
has been affected. Not only are there travel restrictions. Daily
supplies have suffered shortages, and the economy has been greatly
affected. While emergency measures were needed to combat the
pandemic, they were applied repressively, to defend the interests
of the capitalists. Dissatisfaction is growing among the masses.</p>
<p>To curb this dissatisfaction, the Chinese bureaucrats
strengthened social controls and waged war on public opinion. The
newly-issued “Internet Information Governance Regulations” came
into effect in March. They strengthened the government’s control
over the media and the internet, and further suppressed the
“revolution” of public opinion. They clearly stipulate that
network information content producers must not produce, copy or
publish content containing “illegal information,” including
opposing basic principles of the Constitution, endangering
national security, leaking state secrets, subverting state power
and harming “national interests.”</p>
<p>2. At the same time, Wuhan bureaucrats demanded that people
express their gratitude for the government’s response to the
epidemic and even forced various institutions and schools to
implement “grateful education.” This was met with popular
opposition and dissatisfaction. An article circulated on the
internet: “If you have a conscience, you will not ask the
frightened Wuhan people to be grateful at this
time.”(稍有良心，此时都不会要求惊魂未定的武汉人感恩). In this article, the author wrote:
“You are the public servant of the people, and your job is to
serve the people. Now the people’s family you serve is ruined, the
dead have just passed away and the tears of the living have not
been wiped out. Sick people are unhealed and some of their
dissatisfaction is completely reasonable. You should reflect and
be ashamed because you and your team are not working properly,
rather than accuse the people you serve in Wuhan of not being
grateful.” This article has now been restricted from spreading on
the internet.</p>
<p>3. A nursery rhyme has been criticized and resisted by people.
The song, “Mobile cabin hospitals are so amazing”(方舱医院真神奇), is
considered a tribute to the government, ignoring the suffering
caused by the plague and government failure. Some people described
this as “dancing at a funeral” and some netizens commented: “I
can’t agree with such publicity, the epidemic is not over, the
responsibility has not been identified and there is nothing to
praise.” Mobile cabin hospitals are medical isolation units set up
by requisitioning existing facilities due to the coronavirus
outbreaks and insufficient medical resources.</p>
<p>4. During the closure of the cities the government arrested those
with different opinions. Three citizen journalists lost contact.
The Chinese government did not announce their whereabouts, but a
video uploaded by one of the citizen journalists showed him being
arrested by police. These bloggers expose the real situation of
the epidemic and the real living conditions of the people by
uploading videos they have taken. This is not the first time they
have said they have been threatened by the government and police:<br>
<br>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np8ZOQATLGY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np8ZOQATLGY</a>
<br>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWrMZH9Xu6k">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWrMZH9Xu6k</a> </p>
<p>5. Due to the impact of the epidemic and the government’s city
closure policy, economic activities have been greatly impacted and
small businesses and shops are under great pressure. Because of
China’s economic failure in recent years and the sudden outbreak
of the epidemic, protests by shop owners asking for rent
reductions have been held in many cities:</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1240918014234513408">https://twitter.com/i/status/1240918014234513408</a></p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1240427844955668481">https://twitter.com/i/status/1240427844955668481</a></p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1236852059397210112">https://twitter.com/i/status/1236852059397210112</a></p>
<p>6. The Chinese government regarded the two hospitals built in the
short term during the outbreak as government achievements, but the
workers who built the two hospitals encountered difficulties.
There are news reports that during the outbreak, workers were
overloaded, but wage arrears and wage deductions often occurred.
At the same time, after the completion of the construction, due to
the closure of the city, the workers were not allowed to return
home. The high cost of living and lost source of income put the
workers in trouble, but companies and the Wuhan government were
unwilling to assist with the workers’ living problems.</p>
<p>7. Residents have protested across Hubei province that the cost
of living and food prices have become unacceptable. A reporter
exposed that the food donated to Hubei from various places was put
in a warehouse and rotted and was not sent to the residents’
homes. There are also news reports that the local government uses
garbage trucks to deliver food to residents:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S1ZS-Dpnns">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S1ZS-Dpnns</a></p>
<p>8. On March 17, about a thousand Foxconn workers who had returned
to work started protesting and striking because they could not get
the promised subsidy. These workers are reportedly dispatch
workers at Foxconn. The labour dispatching system is a common
method of undermining labour rights in Chinese companies. Many
workers dub it the “slavery dispatch system”:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CqhUrWlk3Q">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CqhUrWlk3Q</a></p>
<p>This is just a typical example of recent strikes by Chinese
workers to defend their rights. Similar incidents have occurred in
many cities. Although the Chinese government claims that they have
basically controlled the corona virus outbreak, conflicts have
gradually erupted as workers return to work.</p>
<p>The economic failure caused during the epidemic will prompt the
bourgeoisie to intensify its exploitation of the working class.
The working class has made huge sacrifices in the fight against
the epidemic. The epidemic has increased the pressure on their
lives, and made workers want a more resolute voice for labour
rights. Therefore, when workers return to work, the backlog of
dissatisfaction will push workers to fight the bourgeoisie and
inequality. Already we can see that when the city lockdown policy
was gradually cancelled, the workers’ movement began to reappear
in various cities.</p>
<p><a
href="https://maps.clb.org.hk/?i18n_language=en_US&map=1&startDate=2020-03&endDate=2020-03&eventId=2020032016151780093">https://maps.clb.org.hk/?i18n_language=en_US&map=1&startDate=2020-03&endDate=2020-03&eventId=2020032016151780093</a></p>
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