According to the attached report on China, taken from the 1999 Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights produced by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU):

Independent trade unions are illegal in China. They are suppressed and their leaders are imprisoned. The official trade union, the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), is part of the ruling party's apparatus and exists to carry out its policy and serve its interests, rather than the interests of workers. Several labour activists were arrested in 1998 (1999, 113).

This information is corroborated in Country Reports 1998:

Independent trade unions are illegal. The 1993 Trade Union Law required that the establishment of unions at any level be submitted to a higher level trade union organization for approval. Following the signing of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural rights in 1997, a number of labour activists petitioned the Government to establish free trade unions as allowed under the covenant. The Government so far has not approved the establishment of any unions (1999, Section 6).

Section 6 of the entry on China in Country Reports 1998 provides additional information concerning the rights of workers in China and is available in Regional Documentation Centres.

The Research Directorate was unable to find reports of independent trade unions in China. However, reports were found of several labour rights organizations attempting to promote the ideal of independent trade unions in China including the Beijing-based Free Labour Union of China (FLUC) and a number of Workers' Autonomous Federations (WAF), including Federations in Shanghai, Yueyang, Shaoyang and Hunan (ICFTU 1999, 118-119; China Labour Bulletin 14 July 1999).

A 14 July 1999 list of Imprisoned Labour Activists and Unionists, produced by China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based organization that seeks to promote independent trade unionism in China, provides examples of imprisoned labour activists in China. Two of the activists on the list are from Shanghai:

Wang Miaogen, a 44-year-old manual worker, was arrested on 1 April 1993 in Shanghai to prevent him from conducting a public protest during the East Asian Games. According to reports, he was repeatedly beaten by the police. After an initial sentence of three years' imprisonment, he was forcibly committed for an indefinite period to the Shanghai An Kang Hospital - a psychiatric hospital run by the Public Security Bureau. Wang had previously been arrested in June 1989 for his involvement in the Shanghai Workers' Autonomous Federation established during the 1989 Democracy Movement. He was released in January 1991 after serving two and a half years' Re-education Through Labour.

Yang Qingheng, 44, was sentenced to three years' Re-education Through Labour on 27 March 1998, a month after he was arrested for allegedly stirring up social unrest by reading an open letter on Radio Free Asia on 27 January. The letter, calling for the right for workers to unionise, claimed that the government's anti-unemployment efforts were threatening social stability. Active in petition campaigns, Yang had also previously called for the reassessment of the official verdict on the 1989 Democracy Movement and the release of political prisoners. In 1996 he completed a three-year sentence of Re-education Through Labour for spreading "counter-revolutionary propaganda".

For information concerning the penalties for leading an illegal strike, please consult CHN32510.E of 28 July 1999.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

China Labour Bulletin. 14 July 1999. "Imprisoned Labour Activists and Unionists." http://www.china-labour.org.hk/9907/ce42list.htm [Accessed 28 July 1999]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. 1999. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1998_hrp_report/china.html [Accessed 29 July 1999]

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). 1999. Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights. http://www.icftu.org [Accessed 28 July 1999]

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). 1999. Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights. China. http://www.icftu.org [Accessed 28 July 1999] pp. 113-120.