["Extraordinary Riot by 30,000 Steel Workers Takes Place in Jilin Province's Tonghua City; General Manager of Privately Run Enterprise Beaten to Death"]

Our center has learned that an extraordinary riot by 30,000 workers of the Tonghua Iron and Steel Group [Tonghua Steel], the largest iron and steel group in the country, was triggered after the Jianlong Steel Holding Company Limited, a large holding company in China, bought into Tonghua Steel. Yesterday [ 24 July] more than 30,000 workers took to the streets to demonstrate and clashed with up to 1,000 Armed Police and public security officers. Up to 100 people were wounded, three police vehicles smashed, and the general manager of the Jianlong company that was buying a stake - Chen Guojun - beaten to death by Tonghua Steel workers. A friend of Chen Guojun confirmed to us that he was beaten to death and his body had now been transported back to Hebei.

Our center has learned that Tonghua Steel, a large state-funded enterprise, has 50,000 workers. Under the instruction of Jilin Province's leaders, the Jianlong company, a large privately run holding company with 20,000 employees, bought into Tonghua Steel in 2005. After it bought a stake, however, Tonghua Steel lost money and almost halted production by last year. Last year Tonghua Steel employees and their dependents, numbering 100,000, went without even central heating. Because it made no profit, the Jianlong group withdrew from the Tonghua Iron and Steel Group early this year. This year the steel products market warmed back up and Tonghua Steel made a profit of 32 million yuan in June and is reckoned to make 80 million yuan in July. Seeing good prospects of gain, Jianlong once again proposed to buy into Tonghua Steel. News came out on 23 July that Jianlong would hold 65 percent of Tonghua Steel's stock. As soon as it came out, the news sparked off fury among the 100,000 Tonghua Steel employees and dependents. Yesterday morning 30,000 workers took to the streets and blocked highways. They clashed with 1,000 public security and Armed Police officers and smashed three police vehicles. After Jianlong bought into Tonghua Steel in 2005, its general manager Chen Guojun concurrently held the post of general manager of Tonghua Steel. With Tonghua Steel's retired workers each receiving only 200 yuan a month for living expenses, Chen Guojun was paid an annual salary of 3 million yuan. He arrived at Tonghua Steel at nightfall yesterday and gave an order for the workers to return to work but was surrounded and beaten up at the scene by them. In addition, up to 10,000 workers stopped police vehicles and an ambulance from getting into the scene where Chen Guojun was wounded. Not until 10 p.m., when Chen Guojun died from serious injuries, did the workers disperse. A friend of Chen Guojun and the Tonghua Public Security Bureau's command center confirmed to us that Chen Guojun was beaten to death and his body had now been transported back to Hebei.

Tonghua Steel is a large state-owned enterprise with 50 years of history, while Jianlong is a large Beijing-based privately run holding company founded in 2003.

Source: Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Hong Kong, in Chinese 25 Jul 09