Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A1117-W749

魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A1117-W749

Release Date: June 17, 2018

发布日：2018年6月17日

Topic: Strikes by Workers Are Their Rights, as Well as Their Needs -- Wei Jingsheng

标题：罢工是权利也是需要 -- 魏京生

Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)

此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

Note: Please use "Simplified Chinese (GB2312)" encoding to view the Chinese parts of this release. If this mail does not display properly in your email program, please send your request for special delivery to us or visit:

http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2018/report2018-06/WeiJS180617onStrikeRightsA1117-W749.htm which contains identical information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Strikes by Workers Are Their Rights, as Well as Their Needs

-- Wei Jingsheng

Recently, people's eyeballs may have been more attracted by the meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) Summit 2018, instead of major issues in China, i.e. the cross-provincial truck drivers' strikes and the exposure of Foxconn's exploitation of the workers by international agencies. These issues are more relevant to the Chinese people.

Whether at home or abroad, the public opinion on the right opposes or even demonizes the workers who strike. They think that these workers have undermined economic growth and are a disease of society. These sayings fit a saying in China: "a man who eats enough does not know the hunger of a man in starvation". If you have to work day and night, yet cannot earn enough money to support your family, surely you will sympathize with the strikers. This is the difference between classes.

Why do western capitalists love the tyranny of the Communist Party in China so much? Even some tyrants in the third world are supported and helped by Western capitalists. It is because only under the tyranny will there be workers who are most tame yet with the lowest wages. With these conditions that are impossible in the West, capitalism will gain the maximum profit.

Why do Westerners not engage in an autocratic tyranny in their own countries? Jewish people in World War II had the most painful lessons. Excessive profits have resulted in an increase in the gap between the rich and the poor, as well as an increase in differentiation between social classes. Or, as in the two world wars, social conflicts turned into foreign wars; or as in ancient China, insurrection swarmed with chaos all over the country, until the change of a dynasty.

After World War II, various democratic countries changed their policies and relaxed restrictions on workers' movements. This relaxation allows workers to gather and fight for higher wages, thus fully share in the fruits of social progress and economic development. On the surface, there are various theories and arguments, but the essence is the implementation of socialism in various degrees. This restricts the expansion of the gap between the rich and the poor, narrows down or even eliminates the class differentiation, which makes the society more harmonious, and promotes the stable development of a society in all aspects.

As a result, it not only limits the expansion of the gap between rich and poor, but also expands the domestic market synchronously and steadily along with the economic development. This is a very important condition for normal economic development. Only a few small countries such as Switzerland can rely on exports and finance to develop their economies. Big countries like China and the United States must rely on a strong domestic market for stable and reliable economic development.

Americans naively envisaged that they may expand their free trade to more countries, thus to achieve even higher efficiency from the divisions of international resources and advantages. This is the origin of trade liberalism. In practice, after the World War II, it did help some allies quickly restore their economies. Under the premise that everyone would comply with a common legal system there was no major problem.

With large countries where the rule of law was not followed, such as China, this free trade has undergone fundamental changes and has had serious consequences. China uses the rules of free trade to dump cheap goods, meanwhile implements protectionism in the other direction. It uses other people's market to develop its own economy while not giving others the same opportunity to use its own market. When using unfair trade to develop the economy in a manner similar to theft, the result is that although money was made with profit, there is no simultaneous development of the technology and management, while the gap between the rich and the poor grows rapidly, and social turmoil intensifies.

Western countries on the loser side cannot always tolerate this predatory type of unfair trade. The Chinese society cannot always tolerate this kind of development of predation against laborers. To achieve balanced and stable development, we must first establish a fair distribution of social wealth. Strikes and labor union movements are successful ways to achieve this result.

Selfishness is human nature. And it is impossible for capitalists to take the initiative to raise wages and abandon their excess profits. The government can only adjust the income of various classes roughly. It is impossible and unnecessary to control all the details between the labor and capital. In labor relations, there is a need to introduce market laws automatically adjusted by the employers and the employees. Among these, there are series of measures such as organizing labor unions and strikes, which have become an important tool for maintaining social fairness and political stability. So the strikes by the Chinese workers are their rights, as well as their need.

Original link of this RFA commentary:

https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/pinglun/weijingsheng/wjs-06222018130149.html

To hear Mr. Wei Jingsheng's related commentary, please visit:

http://www.weijingsheng.org/RFA/RFA2018/WeiJS180612onStrikeRights.mp3

(Written and recorded on June 12, 2018. Broadcasted by Radio Free Asia.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is a message from WeiJingSheng.org

The Wei Jingsheng Foundation and the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition are dedicated to the promotion of human rights and democratization in China. We appreciate your assistance and help in any means. We pledge solidarity to all who struggle for human rights and democratic governance on this planet.

You are welcome to use or distribute this release. However, please credit with this foundation and its website at: www.weijingsheng.org

Although we are unable to afford to pay royalty fees at this time, we are seeking your contribution as well. You may send your articles, comments and opinions to: HCP@weijingsheng.org. Please remember, only in text files, not in attachments.

For website issues and suggestions, you may contact our professional staff and web master at: webmaster@Weijingsheng.org

To find out more about us, please also visit our websites at:

www.WeiJingSheng.org and www.ChinaLaborUnion.org

for news and information for Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition and human rights and democracy movement as whole, especially our Chinese Labor Union Base.

You may contact Ciping Huang at: HCP@Weijingsheng.org or

Wei Jingsheng Foundation office at: 1-202-270-6980

Wei Jingsheng Foundation's postal address is:

Wei Jingsheng Foundation, P. O. Box 15449, Washington, DC 20003, USA

You are receiving this message because you had previous shown your interest in learning more about Mr. Wei Jingsheng and the Chinese Democratic Movement. To be removed from the list, simply reply this message and use "unsubscribe" as the Subject. Please allow us a few days to process your request.

*****************************************************************

中文版

Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A1117-W749

魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A1117-W749

Release Date: June 17, 2018

发布日：2018年6月17日

Topic: Strikes by Workers Are Their Rights, as Well as Their Needs -- Wei Jingsheng

标题：罢工是权利也是需要 -- 魏京生

Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)

此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

如有中文乱码问题，请与我们联系或访问：

http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2018/report2018-06/WeiJS180617onStrikeRightsA1117-W749.htm

-----------------------------------------------------------------

罢工是权利也是需要

-- 魏京生

最近大家的眼球可能更多地被川金会和上合组织峰会所吸引，没有注意到国内的重大事务。跨省卡车司机罢工，和富士康公司剥削摧残工人被国际机构揭发，对中国人来说，更加关系到切身利害。

无论在国内还是国外，持右派观点的舆论，都反对或者丑化罢工的工人，认为他们破坏了经济增长，是社会的病态。中国有句俗话，叫做饱汉子不知饿汉子饥。当你自己没日没夜的工作还不足以养家糊口时，你肯定会同情罢工的工人。这就是阶级差别。

西方的资本家为什么那么喜欢共产党的暴政？包括一些第三世界的暴君，都会得到西方资本家的支持和帮助。就是因为只有在这些暴政之下，才能够提供最低的工资和最温顺的工人。有了这个在西方不可能的条件，资本才能获得最大的利润。

那为什么西方人不在自己国家搞一个专制暴政呢？二次世界大战时期的犹太人有着最惨痛的教训。超额的利润导致贫富差距加大，社会阶级分化加剧。或者像两次世界大战那样，将社会矛盾转移成对外战争；或者像中国古代那样暴动蜂起，天下大乱，改朝换代。

二次大战后，各民主国家改变了政策，放宽了对工人运动的限制。这使得劳动者可以聚集起来争取更高的工资，充分分享社会进步和经济发展的成果。表面上的理论和说法各式各样，其实质就是实行了程度不等的社会主义。这限制了贫富差距的扩大，缩小以至于消灭了阶级分化，社会变得更加和谐，并且促使社会各方面稳定发展。

结果是不仅限制了贫富差距的扩大，而且和经济发展同步稳定地扩大了国内市场。这对于正常健康地发展经济，是非常重要的条件。只有一些小国，例如瑞士，可以依靠出口和金融业发展经济。对于像中国美国这样的大国，必须依靠强大的国内市场，才能有稳定可靠的经济发展。

美国人天真地设想：也许把自由贸易扩展到更多国家，形成国际上的资源和优势的分工，效率会更高。这就是贸易自由主义的由来。在实践中，二战后也确实帮助一些盟国迅速恢复了经济，在大家都遵守法制的前提下，没有发生什么大问题。

在大的不遵守法制的国家，例如中国加入进来之后，自由贸易产生了本质上的变化，并且产生了严重的后果。这些国家在利用自由贸易法则倾销廉价商品的同时，不遵守自由贸易的法则地实行保护主义。也就是利用别人的市场发展经济的同时，不给别人同样的机会利用自己的市场。用类似于偷盗的方式进行不公平的贸易发展经济，结果就是钱挣得多了，技术和管理水平并没有同步发展，贫富差距反而快速发展，社会动荡加剧。

受损失的西方国家不可能永远容忍这种掠夺式的不公平贸易；中国的社会也无法永远容忍这种对劳动者的掠夺式的发展。要取得平衡的、稳定的发展，首先要建立公平的社会财富分配。罢工和工会运动，是可以借鉴的成功的方式。

自私是人的本性。希望资本家主动提高工资放弃超额的利润，是不可能的。政府也只能在大致上调节各阶级的收入，不可能也没必要管到劳资间的所有细节。在劳资关系上，也应该引入市场规律，由劳资双方自动调节。这其中工会组织和罢工等等一系列手段，就成为维系社会公平和政治稳定的重要工具。所以说罢工即是权利也是需要。

魏京生在自由亚洲电台评论的原始链接：

https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/pinglun/weijingsheng/wjs-06222018130149.html