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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by Pro@programming.dev to c/world@lemmy.world

A Chinese factory employee set fire to a textile plant in China’s southwestern Sichuan province in his frustration over unpaid wages of just 800 yuan (or US$111), according to videos posted on social media and eyewitness accounts shared with Radio Free Asia.

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[-] walktheplank@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago
[-] mavu@discuss.tchncs.de -1 points 1 month ago

We (the west) often look at the chinese with some amount of arrogance about them being "peasants".
Truth is, Winnie Pooh has to take some care, because they will fuck things up if their situation gets worse instead of better.

[-] PugJesus@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I mean, people who think the Chinese people are just 'peasants' tend to be pretty goddamn ignorant.

Systems are difficult to oppose in every society. We're all just trying to get by.

[-] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 1 points 4 weeks ago

ignorant is too light, I say racism, say whatever you want about china, if you see Chinese people as peasants you're a racist POS

[-] PugJesus@lemmy.world -1 points 4 weeks ago

The vast majority of people saying Chinese people are 'peasants' are racist, but if someone told me that they met someone in Fuckknowswhereville, USA, who genuinely thought that mainland China was still struggling under a feudal regime, living hand-to-mouth with villages of illiterates who lacked the educational tools to organize against their overlords, and was genuinely overjoyed to hear the contrary, that the Qing Dynasty had fallen and that China entered the modern world, rather than disbelieving or dismissive... well, I've heard too many innocently stupid opinions from my fellow Americans about international issues to reject that out of hand.

Admittedly, being from Fuckknowswhereville, USA, also greatly increases the chance of them being horrifically racist pieces of shit.

[-] neons@lemmy.dbzer0.com -1 points 4 weeks ago

But that was absolutely the same for peasants? Which then would make it accurate again to call them oppressed peasants?

[-] anzo@programming.dev 1 points 4 weeks ago

That's not the defining characterisric for peasants, you pawn :p

[-] JoeKis@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago
[-] FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago

Should have just given the man his stapler.

[-] DozensOfDonner@mander.xyz 1 points 4 weeks ago

Note that RFA is mentioned as a very bad source in other communities.

[-] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 0 points 4 weeks ago

RFA is a literal CIA propaganda outlet. Like directly created and funded by the CIA to spread anti China propaganda.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Asia_(Committee_for_a_Free_Asia)

Radio Free Asia (RFA) was a news agency operated from 1951 to 1955 by the Central Intelligence Agency, through the Committee for Free Asia, to broadcast anti-Communist propaganda.

[-] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works -1 points 4 weeks ago

Well China is more or less state capitalist now so... Based CIA?

I don't know if I'm joking or not, I hate both the CIA and China so whatever.

[-] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 4 weeks ago

If the CCP's all about championing the humble worker then surely they'll approve of this guy's actions, right?

[-] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 2 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

CCP shuts down alternative unions and prevents any left wing demonstrations, it's ironic, you don't have to fall into a party line when you're not a party member yet they're being hunted down as if they just broke the rules of ~~centralised democracy~~ democratic centralism

[-] barsoap@lemm.ee 0 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

centralised democracy

I think you mean democratic centralism.

"Centralised democracy" I think would make sense when contrasting parliamentarian vs. direct democracy. None of the ML parties ever implemented democratic centralism but bureaucratic centralism (ie. party leaders decide, base follows). It was never intended to be an organisation principle for a whole country, just a party, OTOH it's a neat way to dress up autocracy as democracy so of course it's been done plenty of times.

Lenin described the SPD as democratically centralist and well, yes, maybe back then. The structures are still in place but the whole party is paralysed when it comes to making decisions so in the end the Seeheimer rule, i.e. the neoliberal wing. It's a rather perverse situation: An actually still lefty base, or at least union people, following a neoliberal vanguard with red paintjob.

[-] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Yea brain fart, good catch

[-] queermunist@lemmy.ml 0 points 4 weeks ago

Surely they'd prefer workers to go through official channels so the owner of the factory can be prosecuted, not act alone and go on adventurist rampages. They're not anarchists lol

[-] rockerface@lemm.ee 1 points 4 weeks ago

From the article:

Police, however, said the claim that “800 yuan in wages were owed” was false, and that the company was in the process of approving payment of 5,370 yuan in wages. It blamed the factory fire on the arsonist’s suicidal thoughts, and said police would deal strictly with those spreading rumors.

So the "official channels" would just tell him unpaid wages don't exist

[-] queermunist@lemmy.ml -2 points 4 weeks ago

What about the ACFTU? Or one of the labour inspectorates? Going to police is the first step, but it's hardly the only official channel.

The education system clearly failed to prepare this worker for what they should do if their boss steals their wages, but there were definitely other options besides going all propaganda of the deed on the factory. I certainly sympathize with them though!

[-] throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works -1 points 4 weeks ago

Official Channels

So same as an US-American petitioning trump? 🤣

so the owner of the factory can be prosecuted, not act alone and go on adventurist rampages

I guess you oppose burning teslas? Bootlick much?

[-] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 weeks ago

Have you lit a factory on fire or are you a bootlicker too?

[-] queermunist@lemmy.ml -2 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

So same as an US-American petitioning trump? 🤣

What if I told you that the US and China are different countries and that they have different governments?

I guess you oppose burning teslas? Bootlick much?

I oppose adventurism.

People should be organized and follow democratic centralism, parties and unions and organizations and such. They shouldn't just go off on whatever adventure pops in their head because they're mad at some rich guy for being a piece of shit.

Again, that shit is for anarchists, and in case you haven't noticed they haven't been very historically successful.

[-] PugJesus@lemmy.world -1 points 1 month ago

"just 800 yuan (or US$111)"

"just"

Fuck man, I'd go ballistic over $111 of unpaid wages, and that's probably a bigger chunk of that employee's monthly wages than mine.

[-] False@lemmy.world 0 points 4 weeks ago

My first reaction was "That's not very much - guess they should have paid him!"

[-] throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works -1 points 4 weeks ago

I doubt they actually owe ¥800 in total, because they could have just pay 99 other workers ¥8 less and can still pay this person ¥792, this way, the factory owner only owes ¥8 to 100 different individuals rather than oweing ¥800 to one individual. I doubt someone is gonna do arson for ¥8 delayed payment.

So I assume they probably owe other employees as well. Just to illustrate:

If they owe ¥800 to 100 employees, each.

That's ¥80 000 Yuan/RMB ≈ $11 140 USD

A lot of debt.

[-] throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works -1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Most payments in China are monthy, not weekly/bi-weekly as with in the west.

You'd be mad too if you find out you're not gonna be paid for work done for the past month*.

Edit: *Or if its only partial payment

[-] tal@lemmy.today 1 points 4 weeks ago

https://www.erieri.com/salary/job/factory-worker/china

The average pay for a Factory Worker is CNY 58,959 a year and CNY 28 an hour in China.

That'd be 26 hours at average factory wage, according to this site. I don't think that it's likely more than a week, if that.

[-] neons@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 4 weeks ago

Most payments in China are monthy, not weekly/bi-weekly as with in the west.

Where in "the west" do you live? My paychecks (Switzerland) are definitely monthly.

[-] Obi@sopuli.xyz 0 points 4 weeks ago

I only ever heard of North Americans getting paid weekly/bi-weekly as standard.

[-] MisterFrog@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago

A bunch of Europeans in this comment section forgetting there are more "western" countries than just western Europe and the USA/north America.

Fortnightly is the most common in Australia, with some people paid monthly also (depends on the company).

And thankful for this. Monthly sounds terrible

[-] Obi@sopuli.xyz 0 points 3 weeks ago

Notice how I specifically talked about places I heard of, never claimed I knew of every country. And I don't really care one way or another myself tbh, I guess monthly mostly serves to reduce paperwork. More frequent sounds like it might better as the employee.

this post was submitted on 24 May 2025
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