China on Strike: Narratives of Workers' Resistance

by Zhongjin Li (editor), Eli Friedman, Hao Ren

China has been the fastest growing major economy in the world for three decades. It is also home to some of the largest, most incendiary, and most underreported labor struggles of our time. China on Strike, the first English-language book of its kind, provides an intimate and revealing window into the lives of workers organizing in some of China’s most profitable factories, which supply Apple, Nike, Hewlett Packard, and other multinational companies. Drawing on dozens of interviews with Chinese workers, this book documents the processes of migration, changing employment relations, worker culture, and other issues related to China’s explosive growth.

Genres: China, Nonfiction, Labor, Economics, Politics, Asia

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2016

About the author

Zhongjin Li is a Ph.D candidate in the Department of Economics at University of Massachusetts Amherst. She received her bachelor's degree in International Relations from Renmin University of China and a master's degree in Economics from University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her main research focus is political economy of development, economic crises, and labor politics in Asia.

Reviews

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the translations are clunky, but that's easy to ignore. Read this in conjunction with more comprehensive overviews of the Chinese economy and you'll gain a good perspective on the rapidly changing nature of labor organizing, particularly as the country's GDP continues to stagnant and the migrants get closer to retirement.

It should be noted that the interviews collected in the book span from 2002 to 2010, and do not cover the most recent strike wave that is currently on-going. I saw the editors give an in-depth presentation on the present situation where they contrasted it with the earlier strikes from 2002 -2008. Today, the bosses are less willing to make concessions as they're unable to write it off with projected GDP growth; the state is less willing to act as a mediator during disputes; and the workers, while still far off from a cohesive workers movement or even a union, are moving slowly towards more institutional demands, particularly around social security and pensions.

[Basmaish · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much about this is important and interesting and there’s a lot to be said and learned from strikes happening in factories; however I think the ideas and interviews weren’t well presented, were quite repetitive and I felt this book lacked the analysis that this topic and interviews deserves. I’m not sure whether it’s because of the translation or that’s just the writing style of the author, but even the interviews with the workers seemed a bit clunky. However, reading this added another perspective on capitalism and is making me want to learn more about workers and unions.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book helped me peer under the veil and look at what happens in modern China. It is a collection of interviews from striking workers in the Pearl River Delta region of China. It paints the picture of many, small attempts at worker resistance to their horrible working conditions; this what happens when the basic structures of organization bred under capitalism, with it the fundamental antagonisms left intact, are implemented even under a so called "communist" regime.

Unfortunately the book tries to paint the picture of a broad heroic resistance happening all over China, but unfortunately it fails to do so, all we are left with are accounts of essentially parochial strikes that were resolved within days. This might not be the failure of the book itself, but a grim reality faced by Chinese workers. Nonetheless, this is an invaluable resource in one's attempt to understand the hardships endured by the Chinese population. It also contains extremely valuable insights into organizing strikes in an environment where this prospect seems like a fantasy, and the subsequent repressions one has to face.

Ultimately this book is an eye-opener with regards to the plight of the largest working class in the world, and it can give one hope for a better future where the toiling masses at least try to break free from their wretched conditions.

[Krayfish1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is interviews that young Chinese students conducted among their co-workers at factories in the Pearl River region about strikes. The interesting thing about these strikes compared to ones I read about in the garment industry in the US in the late 19th early 20th century is that all the ones described in the book lasted for 1 day to maybe a week, whereas the earlier US ones lasted for months on end. It would be interesting to look at the reasons for the differences.

Most of the strikes seem to be about how much overtime the workers are allowed to work, with the workers wanting more overtime so they can make more money.

[Miko · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a collection of narratives that describe different conditions in which workers striked. I enjoyed learning about the different dynamics in each story. My main criticism about the book is that it feels a bit choppy in terms of how one must jump from one narrative to the next. It also seems like a lot of the stories repeat the same details over and over again, but that may have been a stylistic choice to highlight how similar the struggles are.

[Andrew Sekeres · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite interesting because it gives an insight how factories in China, the conditions working in them, and the reasons why workers would go on strike. I will say that this book at times is hard to read due to the translations. Also if you don’t have any frame of references when it comes to China, it can be quite hard to relate to the material. However, I am happy that this book was published.

[Mills College Library]

331.89095 C5394 2016

[Ryan Hathaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful oral histories. No more, no less.

[Rust Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just some stories, and don't have any analysis. It can't even present the stories well.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book itself was very interesting and went into depth with many interviews with strikers that were both leaders and workers that jumped on the strike the day of. While the content was very interesting overall the book itself was a bit unorganized (although to the authors credit, they did mention that it would be because it was put together quickly). Despite its organization I would definitely recommend reading the book to get a better understanding of the atmosphere of strikes in a few regions in China.

[Joe Xtarr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cool little book. It focuses completely on the workers of factory strikes. Some chapters are third-person narratives. Others are written in first-person testimony style. It can be a bit anecdotal, but the sources can be verified if you're curious enough. The most important reason to read this book is for inspiration in worker solidarity. It also sheds a bright light on the supposed "success" of Chinese capitalism. Hint: it's not great for anyone but the wealthy.

[Naight · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a real eye-opener about labor unrest and self-reliance movements in China. Recommend this for breaking Americans' tendency to consider Chinese people docile; we sometimes act as if China functions only under authoritarian rulers (that turns out to be my racist myth).