On December 13, 2002, CLB received a solidarity message from the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey supporting the campaign for the release of the Liaoyang Four (below).
It has been nine months since the arrest of the Liaoyang Four in mid-March this year. The families of Yao Fuxin, Pang Qingxiang, Wang Zhaoming and Xiao Yunliang are still waiting in vain for a definite decision from the local public security authorities. To date, the four workers representatives, who were arrested for their leading role in the four-year campaign against corruption and bankruptcy at the Liaoyang Ferroalloy Factory, have not been charged.
Their families and workers in Liaoyang were outraged when top ACFTU leader went all the way in the opposite direction. At a press conference on November 11, while the 16th party congress was in session, ACFTU Deputy Chairman Zhang Junjiu stated that Liaoyang workers' representative Yao Fuxin "had been detained because he had broken Chinese law by carrying out car-bombings and not because he had organised a workers' campaign."
In a similar tone, the Chinese government claimed that Yao Fuxin was arrested and detained because he and other persons took advantage of worker discontent to plan, instigate and carry out a number of destructive activities in its reply to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
CLB has released two statements condemning the contemptible accusation, and the chairman of the Liaoyang Federation of Trade Unions flatly refuted the official version. That is sheer rumour. There is no way that Yao Fuxin was involved in such activities", he said.
China Labour Bulletin
2002-12-19
Letter from the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey
China Labour [Bulletin]
13th December 2002
Re: Solidarity and support for the campaign for the release of the Liaoyang Four
Dear Colleagues,
We learnt with a deep concern from the ICFTU that Yao Fuxin and the other three workers representatives have been arrested for exercising the fundamental workers rights enshrined by ILO. For us, its not so big surprise to know that Chinese government is member in ILO and despite its membership your Government can violate the rights enshrined in ILO conventions and recommendations. Because in Turkey for several years were also in a similar position.
Dear colleagues, in your struggle for democratic and labour rights in China, you should know that youre not alone and a whole workers family around the world supports your fight.
Fraternal greeting
[signature]
Musa Cam
General Secretary