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Han Dongfang of the China Labour Bulletin (CLB)  in Hong Kong hosts a radio program on Radio Free Asia discussing labor issues in mainland China. He receives call from workers, business people, teachers, governmental officials from all over China. Workers talk to him about their problems in everyday life, which creates dialogue around human rights and politics. Han then informs them of their rights and advises them what to do in light of the situation. The radio show then either airs the anonymous comments, or features news and discussion on workers' activism. The initiative is one of the efforts being made in the struggle to protect and promote human rights in China, a country with few historical democratic traditions.

In 1997, Han Dongfang, a Chinese dissident in exile in Hong Kong, created a radio show to discuss labor issues.   The China Labour Bulletin (CLB) began in 1994 as a monthly bulletin in Chinese and English, later becoming bi-monthly. Funded mostly by overseas trade unions and individuals in Hong Kong (the Solidarity Fund), CLB seeks to promote independent trade unionism and provides information on the activities of the official All-China Federation of Trade Unions, as well as on the attempts by the workers to organize outside it.  Thousands of copies of the newsletter were sent to the mainland each month. However, realizing this was too costly and probably not very effective, CLB stopped producing the printed version of the newsletter and developed a web site instead.  People also contact CLB via email; email addresses are then collected, widening the network.

The electronic newsletter was supplemented with the radio show.  The program is aired on Radio Free Asia, a US-funded short-wave radio station broadcasting in Chinese to the mainland. The program is 10-minutes long and airs twice a week, occasionally with a third program featuring news on workers’ demonstrations. Han Dongfang, host of the show, receives phone calls from people from all over China, including not only workers and farmers but also university professors, business enterprises, managers, government officials, students, etc.

Most callers to the show hold strong opinions against the Chinese Communist Party and often want to talk about overthrowing the government. During the first several months, Han realized that the show was becoming repetitive, and failed to generate constructive discussions. Now, the conversations encourage worker callers to discuss their personal life and problems in the workplace.  From this, information on human rights violations and political issues emerge. Most of the complaints are about the poverty caused by mass unemployment and lay-offs, mistreatment, corruption as well as health and safety issues. Han then informs the workers of their rights and gives them ideas of what they can do in light of the situation. People also call to notify him of workers’ demonstrations. Some government officials and state enterprise managers call in to acknowledge the corruption (sometimes their own) and express the same opinion, which motivates Han to keep going.

Han Dongfang ensures the safety of callers by having them call his Hong Kong office from public phones and calling collect. However, he said that some people do not care if the call is safe or not because, as they have told him, they “have not been paid for so long, it does not matter any more.” Most wish to keep the conversation unpublicized. Others agree to let Han record the conversation and air the anonymous comments on the Saturday program, which receives favorable reactions from listeners and generates new calls. They have now edited the transcripts of these broadcasts into 2 books, which are only available in Chinese so far, but they are hoping to find an English publisher. The electronic English version of Book 1 has been put on CLB’s web site.

According to Han Dongfang, he does most of the work from Hong Kong by himself, with a few part-time persons helping with research. Each program is only 10 minute long, including about 4-5 minutes for commentary; and Han said therefore he tries to be concise to keep listeners engaged.

The Chinese government has attempted to jam the radio show, and in some areas in China the jamming is so heavy it is very hard to hear. However, Han is positive about the widespread access and impact of the radio show. All one needs to listen to the labor bulletin programs is a short-wave radio, which is popular tradition in China (almost every radio in China is short-wave). According to Han, about 16% of China’s population, or 150-200 million, are listening to foreign radio. Overall, the labor bulletin radio show has produced positive impact, serving to encourage working class movements in the mainland. It is a breakthrough for Chinese workers, because it allows them to overcome the official news blockade and gives them access to up-to-date information on problems facing the workers, how others react to various right abuses and what forms of protests they adopt. People also consider it a place to share their personal stories and opinions.

Han’s advice to others in doing the work is to have faith and to put oneself in workers’ situation. He also thinks that the future of human rights struggle in China has to be a legal struggle, and that Chinese people should be encouraged to trust and use the law or the good part of it in fighting for their rights.

This information is based on interview with Han Dongfang, December 2001, and information from the Internet.

[Photo credit: RTHK on the internet]