DRL OFFICER RANA SIU'S VISIT TO HONG KONG: LABOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HONG KONG 001251

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2031
TAGS: PGOV PREL HK CH PINR PHUM ELAB
SUBJECT: DRL OFFICER RANA SIU'S VISIT TO HONG KONG: LABOR
ISSUES (PART 1 OF 2)

REF: A. 05 BEIJING 01712

B. 04 HONG KONG 06604

Classified By: E/P Chief Simon Schuchat. Reasons: 1.4(b,d).


1. (C) Summary: During a March 13-16 visit to Hong Kong, DRL
Foreign Affairs Officer Rana Siu discussed labor issues with
local NGOs and a mainland-based labor lawyer. Han Dongfang,
Director of "China Labour Bulletin (CLB)," said that mainland
local authorities have warned the families of industrial
accident victims to refuse assistance from activist lawyer
Gao Zhisheng. Elizabeth Tang, Chief Executive of the Hong
Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU),said that in
2004, local newspapers published an article listing all of
the Hong Kong NGOs that had received grants from the National
Endowment for Democracy. Fortunately, however, "no one was
interested in these stories," said Tang. Labor lawyer Zhou
Litai requested additional funding from the USG for various
legal projects. Monina Wong, Director of Labour Action China
(LAC),discussed LAC's campaign to assist mainland gemstone
workers who have contracted silicosis. CLB, HKCTU, and LAC
all reported difficulties working with their U.S.-based
partner, the American Center for International Labor
Solidarity (ACILS). This is the first of two cables
reporting Siu's meetings in Hong Kong. End Summary.

"China Labour Bulletin": Gao Zhisheng
--------------


2. (C) On March 14, DRL Foreign Affairs Officer Rana Siu
discussed labor issues with "China Labour Bulletin" (CLB)
Director Han Dongfang and Research and Communications
Director Robin Munro. Beginning in 2003, CLB has provided
legal assistance to selected mainland workers and their
families affected by industrial accidents through its Case
Intervention Program, explained Munro. One of the first
mainland lawyers hired by CLB was Gao Zhisheng (ref A),who
was asked to defend workers involved in a Dongguan shoe
factory protest in the fall of 2004. Munro said Gao did a
"masterful" job presenting the workers' cases and that all
ten defendants were eventually released. In October 2004,
CLB hired Gao to represent textile factory workers on strike
in Shaanxi province. At the time, he was prevented from
meeting with the workers and detained by local police for
four days (ref B).


3. (C) Over the past year, it had become increasingly clear
to CLB, said Han, that Gao had become more outspoken and had
taken on politically risky cases, including Falun Gong abuse
cases. In October 2005, Gao published an open letter to
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao criticizing the
abuse of Falun Gong adherents. Although Gao is not a member
of the Falun Gong, he has also published several articles in
the Falun Gong-owned newspaper, "The Epoch Times." Worried
that Gao might be detained for his close ties with the Falun
Gong, Han said that CLB had even tried to keep the lawyer so
busy with their labor cases last year that he would have no
time to take on Falun Gong cases. Despite their efforts, the
authorities shut down Gao's law firm and revoked his law
license. Nonetheless, Gao told CLB that he was willing to
work as a consultant on a case involving a coal-mining
incident in Shaanxi province in November 2005. Gao initially
made contact with 40 victims' families; soon after, however,
each of the 40 families separately contacted Gao and declined
his offer of assistance. Han contended that local
authorities warned each of the families to refuse Gao's
assistance and likely told them that the lawyer was connected
to the Falun Gong. Most of these families were scared off,
said Munro, and were now somewhat suspicious of CLB's
motives. Due to the negative publicity surrounding Gao,
Munro and Han said that they were trying to distance CLB from
the lawyer.


4. (C) Due to the Case Intervention Program's success in
winning compensation for workers and raising the profile of
labor issues, the CLB now would like to negotiate an annual
retainer with a mainland law firm, said Munro. At present,
each time CLB finds an appropriate case, the NGO has to
approach an individual lawyer and explain CLB's mission and
background. An annual retainer would resolve some of these
logistical issues and would formalize a relationship between
CLB and a single law firm. Separately, Munro and Han said
that they have had problems communicating and working with
their U.S.-based partner, the American Center for
International Labor Solidarity (ACILS). Over the past year,
Munro said that ACILS had made several abrupt and
unreasonable requests to CLB regarding documentation of

HONG KONG 00001251 002 OF 004


projects funded by the Human Rights Democracy Fund (HRDF) and
did not pass on information in a timely manner regarding the
HRDF's call for statements of interest. At one point, ACILS
suggested to CLB that they apply for future grants with the
American Federation of Teachers. Instead, CLB has decided to
apply for 501(c)(3) (non-profit) status in the U.S. and will
likely apply for a HRDF grant directly.

"China Labour Bulletin": Compensation for Workers
-------------- --------------


5. (C) CLB has also worked on assisting workers and their
families affected by the November 27, 2005 mine explosion in
Heilongjiang that killed 171 miners. During one of his
programs on "Radio Free Asia," Han discovered that
immediately after the explosion, the local authorities
contacted all of the victims' families, asked them to come to
their offices, showed them the body of their family member
and asked them to sign compensation papers. Family members
told Han that they were so distraught during this meeting,
that they signed the documents without carefully considering
the legal and financial implications. The victims' families
were told that if they immediately signed the documents, they
would be paid 200,000 renminbi (USD 25,000) for civil and
social compensation, plus a 10,000 renminbi (USD 1,250)
"bonus." Nearly all of the families signed the agreements
presented by officials from the Qitaihe branch of the Longmei
Mining Co., Ltd. One family member told Han that she "lost
her mind" when confronted with the body of her relative and
the compensation documents; Han described this tactic as
"disgusting." Victims' families were further incensed when,
during a particularly cold winter in Heilongjiang (almost 30
degrees Celsius below zero),they were refused additional
heating fuel from the mining company. The company reminded
families that they had already received all of their
compensation.


6. (C) Recognizing an opportunity for case intervention work,
Han asked several families if they were interested in suing
for employer negligence. Many of the families told Han that
they were scared to participate in litigation against the
company, especially since many of them had no plans to move
to another town. However, the widow of one of the mining
victims was willing to file suit against the company and had
already moved to another city. If one of the victims of an
industrial accident or their family member were to win a
negligence case and won significant financial compensation in
the range of a half a million renminbi (USD 62,500),said
Han, then this court victory could become a real incentive
for other workers to seek civil compensation for work-related
injuries and death.


7. (C) CLB had limited resources, said Munro, and the NGO had
to select its intervention cases carefully. CLB wanted to
maximize the amount of compensation and publicity of a court
win. For example, the mine explosion in Heilongjiang was an
ideal case because the mining company is a state owned
enterprise (SOE). If a victim sued a private mining company,
the company could easily declare bankruptcy and never have to
pay civil compensation; an SOE, on the other hand, was more
likely to pay. When asked about the sensitivity of their
litigation work in the mainland, Han said that,
theoretically, the central government stood to gain from
CLB's advocacy of public interest litigation. Especially in
relation to mining safety, local authorities appeared to
routinely ignore directives from the central government. A
successful lawsuit would not only provide a template for
future lawsuits and generate publicity about industrial
accidents and civil compensation, argued Han, but it would
also serve as a deterrent and warning to local authorities
and mining companies.


8. (C) Separately, CLB is working with lawyers from Beijing
University who are considering filing an environmental public
interest suit in relation to the benzene leak into the
Songhua River in Harbin. CLB is also working on the
development of a code of conduct to be signed between workers
and employers, which could become an alternative to a
corporate social responsibility (CSR) agreement. A CSR
agreement does not work, said Munro, because it is only an
ethical agreement; instead, CLB advocates a collective labor
contract between workers and company. If the code of conduct
were violated, the workers could then go to court and sue for
contract violation. CLB is currently in the process of
pitching this idea to various multinational corporations
operating in China.


HONG KONG 00001251 003 OF 004


Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions
--------------


9. (C) On March 15, Elizabeth Tang, Chief Executive of the
Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU),said that
her organization had arranged seven conferences or seminars
during the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Sixth Ministerial
Conference in Hong Kong last December. With the arrival of
so many activists to Hong Kong, HKCTU capitalized on the WTO
event to educate the public on the impact of WTO on Hong
Kong. Tang also noted that Hong Kong activists appear to
have studied the tactics used by anti-globalization
protestors. Imitating a protest conducted by South Korean
farmers during the WTO, four poultry traders (all wearing
life jackets) jumped into the Hong Kong harbor on May 14 to
protest a government plan to restrict the number of chickens
on Hong Kong's farms.


10. (C) Conducting program work in China was sensitive,
contended Tang, so the HKCTU had passed along a mainland
labor rights project to a local partner, the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). Tang said that
this move was necessary to deflect negative attention from
HKCTU's Hong Kong programs. Separately, Tang said that
around the time of the September 2004 Legislative Council
elections, local newspapers published an article listing all
of the Hong Kong NGOs which had received grants from the
National Endowment for Democracy. Fortunately, however, "no
one was interested in these stories," said Tang.


11. (C) Tang added that over the past year, HKCTU had
encountered some difficulties working with ACILS, their only
U.S. partner. ACILS staff, complained Tang, had unilaterally
changed documentation requirements several times over the
past year. Moreover, it now took between six months to a
year to be reimbursed, ultimately affecting HKCTU's cash
flow. HKCTU had "no confidence to implement activities"
because they were concerned that ACILS might not reimburse
their projects, said Tang. As a result, HKCTU had placed
some labor projects on hold.

Zhou Litai: Need Additional Funding
--------------


12. (C) On May 15, Zhou Litai, a labor lawyer with offices in
Chongqing and Shenzhen, requested additional funding from the
USG. Zhou explained that his law firm had taken on too many
cases from other provinces, incurring high travel costs for
his law firm. Additional funding would help cover these
costs as well as enable Zhou to write a report analyzing the
6,000 plus labor cases that his firm has worked on. Zhou
assured that such a report would be extremely useful to
understanding mainland labor issues. Increased funding would
also help develop his project to train lawyers in other
provinces on the proper procedures involved in litigating
worker injury cases.

Labour Action China
--------------


13. (C) In June 2005, Labour Action China (LAC) formally
split from the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee
(HKCIC) and registered as a separate NGO under the society
ordinance in Hong Kong, explained LAC Director Monina Wong.
HKCIC will continue to work on labor issues in Hong Kong but
will not duplicate LAC's work on mainland labor issues. Five
members originally from HKCIC, including Wong and one
mainland employee, form the staff of LAC. Wong added that,
by coincidence, her LAC colleagues did not necessarily have a
"church background." HKCIC, on the other hand, will continue
to get more of its direction and funding from local churches.
Choi Yuk Yuk, also formerly a member of HKCIC, is now the
head of Worker Empowerment, which has an office in Shenzhen
and is funded by a European Union church group. According to
Wong, all three organizations meet regularly and try to
coordinate their programs so that there is no overlap of
work. While there is no formal relationship between HKCIC
and LAC, two members of HKCIC sit on the LAC board. Some of
LAC's labor programs include: worker training, labor
litigation and public campaigns to support mainland labor
activists.


14. (C) One of LAC's programs has been its support of
mainland jewelry workers' campaign against Lucky Gems and
Jewelry, a Hong Kong-invested company, and other gemstone
factories. (Note: Beginning in 2004, several mainland
laborers working in Hong Kong-invested jewelry factories in

HONG KONG 00001251 004 OF 004


Guangdong province claim to have contracted silicosis due to
poorly ventilated workshops. Several Hong Kong NGOs
including CLB, HKCTU, HKCIC and LAC have helped these workers
seek compensation from their employers. LAC and other NGOs
have raised public awareness of this issue by organizing
protests at jewelry trade shows in Hong Kong. End Note.)
Wong said that these mainland activists initially contacted
Hong Kong NGOs only after exhausting all other legal means
for compensation, including litigation, petitions, etc. She
added that these activists, who were living with an incurable
pulmonary disease, were extremely committed to their cause.
Five of the original leaders of this campaign had died, but
had been replaced by other organizers. However, it was not
easy finding "second tier" leaders, said Wong, because the
majority of gemstone factory workers just wanted to take
their one-off compensation and return to their home villages.
LAC is also in the process of approaching law schools in
southern China that would be willing to waive tuition fees
for two gemstone organizers to attend a paralegal program.
With a better understanding of the law, organizers might be
better positioned to assist other laborers seeking
compensation, said Wong.


15. (C) According to Wong, ACILS had been helpful in helping
LAC partner with qualified mainland lawyers and medical
personnel in their silicosis campaign work. However, Wong
stated that the financial reports recently required by ACILS
were a "real headache." She added that there was now a new
ACILS requirement to fill in a time sheet. This new
requirement "doesn't make a lot of sense" and meant that
there wasn,t enough trust between LAC and ACILS.
Reimbursement from ACILS for project work was slow and said
that cash flow for the NGO was a "big problem"; some LAC
colleagues were even paying out of pocket, Wong said.


16. (U) DRL Foreign Affairs Officer Siu cleared this message.
Cunningham