Mainland China, Taiwan, HK & Macau

New president, old elite – assessing Taiwan’s forthcoming 2016 election from a working class viewpoint.

Mao Yi Yu December 12, 2016.   There will be three presidential candidates competing in Taiwan’s 2016 presidential election. They are Tsai Ying Wen the leader of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Eric Chu who represents the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT) and James Soong from the People First Party (PFP). According to pre-election opinion polls, Tsai Ying Wen’s popularity rating is the highest, much greater than that of Eric Chu and his party that is currently in power. The third competitor James Soong’s influence is relatively insignificant.

A Growing International Solidarity Campaign for the Seven Arrested Mainland Labour Activists

  The signature campaign to free the Chinese labour activists detained last month has already been endorsed by 172 organisations, both local and international. 2450 individuals have also endorsed it. We urge human and labour rights supporters to continue to circulate and/or endorse the statement: Free Chinese labour activists now! End suppression of labour organisations. Labour Start has also launched an international appeal.

Petition: Free Chinese labour activists now! End suppression of labour organizations!

Petition: Free Chinese labour activists now! End suppression of labour organisations! At least four labour activists remain in criminal detention following a recent crackdown on labour organisations.

China Sucked Deeper Into World Financial Vortex and Vice Versa, as BRICS Sink Fast

by PATRICK BONDNOVEMBER 27, 2015  On Monday November 30, the Chinese currency – the yuan – will join the dollar, euro, pound and yen as the world’s official reserve currencies, as recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Are we reaching the fabled new era of multipolarity, and will it bring stability to a chaotic world economy – “a win-win result for China and the world,” as the People’s Bank of China claims?

Why do we need to oppose the TPP?

 Felix, Globalisation Monitor The accomplishment of the TPP negotiation in October has become a big issue in China, but the majority of the comments are either from the neoliberals or the Chinese nationalists. This article tries to inspire some left-wing voices on this topic in the Chinese-speaking world. We are firmly against the TPP and the imperialist agenda behind it, but we don’t support the similar free trade frameworks dominated by China either. This article gives reasons why TPP must be opposed but does not address all the problematic ideas that have emerged in China so far. Therefore, this is only the first of a series of planned articles, through which we hope to win more people to internationalism and class politics. The article is only available in Chinese.

Urgent Statement Regarding Nullification of Reclamation Permit

  On 13 October Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga nullified the permit to carry out land reclamation in Oura Bay, granted by the previous Governor Hirokazu Nakaima, explaining that it contains illegalities. We of the Anti-Helicopter Base Council unconditionally support this decision, and more than ever give our full backing to the Governor.   However the Defense Department’s Okinawa Office has begun legal action aimed at having the nullification itself declared illegal.

The Air France protesters were desperate, frightened people, not a violent mob

 Philippe Marlière  The Guardian Tuesday 6 October 2015 13.01 BSTLast modified on Tuesday 6 October 201513.15 BST On Monday, about 100 employees stormed an Air France management and union official meeting that was discussing dramatic job cuts. As the negotiations had been making no progress, the staff became angry, and tussled with some company officials. Two Air France executives had their shirts torn off. Xavier Broseta, the airline’s head of human resources, escaped the scene by climbing a chain-link fence, bare-chested, while Pierre Plissonnier, the head of long-haul flights, was escorted away by security guards with his suit and shirt in tatters. The spectacular images were shown around the world and provoked dismay and outcry in the media. Protesters were presented as a “mob”. Manuel Valls, the Socialist prime minister, declared that he was “scandalised” by the “unacceptable violence”. He unequivocally backed Air France management, still a partially state-owned company. Emmanuel Macron, the finance minister, tweeted that the violence was “irresponsible” and “nothing can replace social dialogue”. Fearing a media backlash, most trade unions condemned the violence.

Pensions dumped into the stock market?

 Kennedy Chan Recently, news about the Chinese government’s plans to invest its national public pension scheme funds into the stock market has triggered a lot of concerns. The stock market turmoil this year has slaughtered a countless number of small investors, thus naturally people are worried that this move may put hundreds of millions of working people’s retirement security at risk. The government’s explanation is that in order to offset the devaluation caused by inflation, they have to appreciate the amount of the fund. Otherwise, there will be huge holes in the future. Moreover, only a small proportion of the fund will be used for purchasing stocks and shares. 

For this cook the Umbrella Movement is not yet over

Neighborhood and Workers Service Centre     Written by: Yat Mu Edited by: Jessie Kwok   Note: This is an adapted account about a Hong Kong cook, Sai Fai, and how he became politicized during the Umbrella Movement. The original Chinese report was posted on the NWSC (Neighborhood and Workers Service Centre) website.   In 2014, like many people, Sai Fai had to endure pepper and tear gas at one of the the three occupation sites where he worked in Admiralty.