Extract

Han - In a way it was a coincidence. Eleven years ago, I was a railway worker - an electrician trained in Beijing.

My wife and I were in a bus. I saw the people gathering as the bus passed by the Square. My wife said, ‘lets go and have a look’. I refused, but she wouldn’t give up. We went there. I started talking to people. I couldn’t pull myself away. This is how I discovered the democracy movement. I joined the democracy movement because of the students, but I soon realized I had to get workers involved.
The student movement talked about democracy and human rights and the corruption of the political leadership. I did not know much about the system of democracy and human rights. Because I was a worker I started talking about the factory situation. I said, we don’t have democracy in our factory. The ideas started coming to me as I spoke. I said that I believe that if we are going to fight for democracy, we should also fight for democracy in the factory, not just political democracy. But still I didn’t really understand what the labor movement was supposed to be.
The students did not really create the opportunity for workers to get involved. That is why we formed a workers organisation. We organised elections for the workers’ organisation so that we could determine our direction. We did not just want to be a support group for the students.
Five people were elected to a preparatory committee. I was one of them. I was also appointed spokesperson for the committee. This was the starting point of my involvement in the struggle for democracy and worker rights.
[While in the square] I reminded everyone there that we are running not for power, not for position - we are running because we accept the risk. I asked, who is prepared to accept the dangerous risk? I said, I am ready for this. I warned, one day we could face jail. I told the crowd, if that day came, I will accept prison. The government would not need to send anyone running after me. They would’nt need to send someone to catch me - I would go to prison because I believe in what I am doing and saying today.
After I left the Square I was shocked at the terrible death and destruction. I believed that people would be serious and react to the violence.
I decided that the best thing for me would be to leave Beijing and work with the ordinary people to try and change things. But one day I saw the front pages of the newspapers. They had pictures on the front page - my picture was there. I realised that I was one of the most wanted men in the whole country. So I came back to to accept my responsibility, to accept what I had promised at the Square. And it happened, I was in prison for two years.

Han - Through this experience, I kept thinking of the future of labor. I knew very little about labor movements or labor law, or how workers could address labor issues that arise in the factory.
I started to think about these issues seriously and took opportunities to discuss with different union movements outside of China.I spoke to labour leaders in Europe who told me how hard unions had to fight to win conditions for workers. I was naïve at that time. I was surprised that union organisers got victimized in a democratic system. This helped me develop my ideas on the democracy movement. I realized that workers everywhere have to stand up and fight for their rights. That’s why remain focused on labour. I have to remind Chinese workers about this. I have to get this message of struggle across to the Chinese workers. For the last three years I have been broadcasting from Hong Kong. I tell them that they have the right to a decent wage, paid monthly. I tell them that if they are not paid, it is illegal. I tell them about democratic unionism. If a factory worker is not happy with a union leader, he or she can elect a new leader. Every union member has these rights.
I tell them that if we can organise union elections inside the factories and workplaces that this will be a big step forward for democracy itself. Workers will learn to have a say in their own lives - they will learn that they can create power and begin to influence events. Workers will learn to elect leaders and control leaders in their democratic unions.