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Political Science Speaker Series on “Society and Politics in the Asia-Pacific”

What is the meaning of the thousands of strikes that take place every year in China? Do these strikes add up to a "labor movement"? How can solidarity between Chinese and American workers be built?

Countering the popular myth that Chinese workers are “stealing American jobs,” Striking to Survive documents a recent wave of factory closures in China’s Pearl River Delta and struggles by workers there to hold onto their jobs, their pensions, and their livelihoods.

The struggles of workers in China’s industrial centers are shaping the future of labor politics, not only in China but throughout the world. Chinese worker-activists Fan Shigang and Li Wen will provide a unique, on-the-ground perspective on the most recent wave of militancy among China’s working class.

Featured Guests
Fan Shigang was born into a family of state-owned enterprise workers in a northern Chinese city. He has worked as a basic-level employee in several machining factories. He is a contributor to the underground labor periodical, Factory Stories, conducting interviews with factory workers in southern China, documenting their lives, work, and struggles.

Li Wen has worked in electronics and jewelry factories in southern China. She interviews and documents the experience of factory workers who've joined collective struggles, and pays particular attention to issues of occupational injury and disease.

Their book includes a uniquely fine-grained account of the strike organized by "Delegate Wu" - a worker activist who served more than a year in prison after the strike ended.