Organize international solidarity with the courageous Jiashi workers of Shenzhen, China!

Since May, the workers of Shenzhen Jiashi Technology, China, have been fighting for the right to form their own trade union in order to organize resistance against exploitation and oppression. The workers resist the company forcing its employees to work overtime and imposing wage cuts as an arbitrary punitive measure. They are building an independent trade union in the factory, as the government-related trade union federation has since stabbed them in the back.

Now management and police are acting brutally and ruthlessly. Activists are beaten up, dismissed, thrown into prison and even kidnapped to unknown places. Their families and supporters are also affected by the repression.

But the Jiashi workers are not intimidated. Their struggle meets with solidarity throughout the country. The leaders of the struggles have long exposed and denounced the life and health ruining working conditions in the high-tech and automotive industries. Supporters come to Shenzhen to support the struggle directly on site, e.g. with protest rallies in front of the local police station for the release of those arrested. But solidarity actions are also taking place in other Chinese cities. With portraits of Mao Zedong, veterans of the Cultural Revolution recall a China in which the workers were the masters of the factories and humans were at the center.

Obviously the rulers in China fear the independently organized force of the working-class movement in connection with Mao Zedong Thought and that the demand for independent trade unions will create a precedent. For months a wave of nationally coordinated strikes has been growing in China. That is why the Jiashi workers are also representative of many others!

Worldwide a wave of solidarity is developing. The Jiashi workers are not alone! The drive to organize cannot be suppressed in the working class in the long run. The Jiashi activists make their struggle known on the Internet and also ask for international support. In a particularly moving video, several representatives resolutely sing the "Internationale".

The ICOR declares its support for this fearless struggle and calls on all member organizations to organize solidarity.

Solidarity messages can be sent to coordinationint@yahoo.co.uk for forwarding and publication; the current status can be seen at www.icor.info.

We demand

• Immediate release of all workers, students and other supporters of the Jiashi workers' struggle!

• We support the right to independent trade unions!

• Long live international working-class unity!

Signatories (as of 15 october 2018, up-to-date list of signatories on www.icor.info):

1. RCP Revolutionary Communist Party of Egypt

2. ORC Organisation Révolutionnaire du Congo (Revolutionary Organization of Congo), Democratic Republic of the Congo

3. SDP Social Democratic Party, Kenya

4. MMLPL Moroccan Marxist-Leninist Proletarian Line

5. CPSA (ML) Communist Party of South Africa (Marxist-Leninist)

6. MLOA Marxist-Leninist Organization of Afghanistan

7. CPB Communist Party of Bangladesh

8. CPI (ML) Red Star Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Red Star

9. PCC CPI (ML) Provisional Central Committee Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)

10. NCP (Mashal) Nepal Communist Party (Mashal)

11. NDMLP New-Democratic Marxist-Leninist Party, Sri Lanka

12. БКП Българска Комунистическа Партия (Bulgarian Communist Party)

13. MLPD Marxistisch-Leninistische Partei Deutschlands (Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany)

14. MIKSZ Magyar Ifjúság Közösségi Szervezete (Organisation of Hungarian Youth Community), Hungary

15. KOL Kommunistische Organisation Luxemburg (Communist Organization of Luxemburg)

16. RM Rode Morgen (Red Dawn), Netherlands

17. BP (NK-T) Bolşevik Parti (Kuzey Kürdistan-Türkiye) (Bolshevik Party (North Kurdistan-Turkey))

18. MLGS Marxistisch-Leninistische Gruppe Schweiz (Marxist-Leninist Group of Switzerland)

19. MLKP Marksist Leninist Komünist Parti Türkiye / Kürdistan (Marxist Leninist Communist Party Turkey / Kurdistan)

20. PCC-M Partido Comunista de Colombia – Maoista (Communist Party of Colombia - Maoist)

21. PC (ML) Partido Comunista (Marxista Leninista) (Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist)), Dominican Republic

22. PC/ML Partido Comunista (Marxista-Leninista) de Panamá (Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) of Panama)

23. PCP (independiente) Partido Comunista Paraguayo (independiente) (Paraguayan Communist Party (independent))

24. PML del Perú Partido Marxista Leninista del Perú (Marxist-Leninist Party of Peru)

25. PPP Partido Proletario del Perú (Proletarian Party of Peru)

26. PPDS   Parti Patriotique Démocratique Socialiste (Patriotic Democratic Socialist Party), Tunisia
27. NPCH (ML)   Nouveau Parti Communiste Haϊtien (Marxiste-Léniniste) (New Communist Party of Haiti (Marxist-Leninist))
28. PS-GdT   Plataforma Socialista - Golpe de Timón (Socialist Platform – Change of Course), Venezuela

Signed after the release date:

 29. RMP   Российская маоистская партия (Rossijskaya maoistskaya partiya) (Russian Maoist Party)