Police Fail to Shift Blame for Factory Workers' Demonstration to Falun Gong

At around 10:00am on April 1, 2003, many police officers and police vehicles arrived at Xilin and Changan Bridges in Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, where the train would pass by. Later on several fire engines and several military police vehicles arrived. Some people who were in the crowd said that the police and the military police were here to suppress the angry workers from the Jiamusi Textile Mill.

The Jiamusi Textile Mill has repeatedly delayed and refused to pay the workers' their wages over the past several years. In 2002, the workers went to appeal to the city government but the issue still wasn't solved. It was said that the workers from the Jianmusi Textile Mill sent several representatives to Beijing to appeal but they were held up by the police. The workers also protested against the mill's actions by lying on the railway tracks in a desperate hope to solve their problems. The Jiamusi police cracked down on the workers' demonstration and framed them as "Falun Gong practitioners making trouble". The workers responded angrily and said, "Don't try to put the blame on Falun Gong. This has nothing to do with Falun Gong. We just want our delayed wages."

The delayed wages that were owed to the workers were not paid before the 16th Communist Party National Conference. During the period of the Communist Party National Conference, the workers tried to lie on the railway tracks again to protest and it was said the matter was reported to the central government. But the problem still hasn't been solved. So on April 1st, 2003, over a thousand workers tried once again to intercept the train. The military police responded by firing water hoses from the fire engine to drive away the workers.

April 4, 2003

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/4/4/47692.html