On November 9 and 11, continuing their attempt to crush the support for a campaign to form an independent union by workers at the factory of Jasic Technology in Shenzhen, authorities seized 18 supporters in five cities—Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Wuhan. The actions included the physical assault and abduction of a recent graduate of Peking University, Zhang Shengye (张圣业), from the university campus. The Peking University administration did nothing to stop the intrusion and violence.

A group of workers at Jasic, which produces welding equipment, had begun demanding to form an independent union in May 2018, to address deteriorating work conditions and inadequate wages. In June, several of the campaign’s organizers were beaten by unidentified individuals and dismissed by the factory. Protests broke out in July after police detained a group of dismissed workers who attempted to re-enter the factory. The protest has attracted the support of workers, university students and recent graduates from different parts of the country, as well as some Maoist organizations, and an informal support group was formed.

On August 24, police in riot gear raided an apartment in Huizhou (惠州), near Shenzhen, where members of the support group were staying, and took away more than 50 students and workers. On the same day, in Beijing, authorities detained two workers’ representatives in the support group and two activists who were supporters of the Jasic workers.

While some of those detained have subsequently been released, as of now, a total of 32 individuals are still in custody, disappeared, or under “residential surveillance in a designated place” (指定监视居住); among them, four former Jasic workers have been criminally charged with “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order.”  (See a list of these individuals and their status at the end of this bulletin.)

According to reliable sources and available information:

• Only five are known to be held at an official detention facility with an address—the Shenzhen Municipal No. 2 Detention Center;
• 27 are missing: they have not been heard from since being disappeared or put under “residential surveillance at a designated place” in facilities of unknown locations;
• None of the four former Jasic workers detained on charges of “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order” has been granted permission to meet with a lawyer in recent months (lawyers for three of the four were forced to withdraw, and a new lawyer for one of them was told he could not meet with his client because his case involves state secrets); and
• Only one of the four detained workers has been granted permission to meet with his family.

HRIC calls on the Chinese authorities to account for the whereabouts of all those missing and to guarantee their personal safety and that they are free from torture. The authorities must accord all detainees due process in accordance with Chinese and international law, including access to lawyers of their own choosing, and allow the detainees visits by family members.

List of 32 individuals detained or disappeared in connection with Jasic workers’ campaign:

1. Mi Jiuping (米久平), male, Jasic worker, detained since July 2018, charged with “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order,” being held at the Shenzhen Municipal No. 2 Detention Center. Mi’s first two lawyers withdrew from his case. On October 1, request by a new lawyer to meet with Mi was denied on the grounds that Mi’s case involved state secrets.
2. Yu Juncong (余浚聪), male, Jasic worker, detained since July 2018, charged with “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order,” being held at the Shenzhen Municipal No. 2 Detention Center. After meeting with Yu on August 30, Yu’s lawyer was pressured to withdraw from the case. Yu’s requests for meeting with his new lawyer have not been accepted after August 30.
3. Liu Penghua (刘鹏华), male, Jasic worker, detained since July 2018, charged with “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order,” being held at the Shenzhen Municipal No. 2 Detention Center. Liu told a lawyer who met with him in September that he had been beaten up. Further requests to meet with his lawyer have been denied since.
4. Li Zhan (李展), male, former Jasic worker and worker supporter, detained since July 2018, charged with “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order,” being held at the Shenzhen Municipal No. 2 Detention Center. After meeting with Li on September 18, Li’s lawyer was pressured to withdraw from his case.
5. Shen Mengyu（沈梦雨）, female, graduate of Sun Yat-sen University, forcibly disappeared in August 2018, missing.
6. Yue Xin （岳昕）, female, graduate of Peking University, forcibly disappeared on August 24, 2018, missing.
7. Gu Jiayue（顾佳悦）, female, graduate of Peking University, taken from her home on August 24, 2018, charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” being held under “residential surveillance at a designated place,” whereabouts unknown.
8. Xu Zhongliang（徐忠良）, male, graduate of University of Science and Technology Beijing, detained since August 24, 2018, charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” being held under “residential surveillance at a designated place,” whereabouts unknown.
9. Zheng Yongming（郑永明）, male, graduate of Nanjing Agricultural University, detained since August 24, 2018, charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” being held under “residential surveillance at a designated place,” whereabouts unknown.
10. Shang Kai（尚恺）, male, editor of a leftist media website Hongse Cankao (红色参考), taken away by Guangdong police on August 24, 2018 from the office of Hongse Cankao, missing.
11. Fu Changguo（付常国）, male, staff member of a workers’ center, Dagongzhe (打工者中心), detained since August 2018, charged with “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order,” being held at the Shenzhen Municipal No. 2 Detention Center.
12. Yang Shaoqiang（杨少强）, male, graduate of University of Science and Technology Beijing, taken from home in August 2018, charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” being held under “residential surveillance at a designated place,” whereabouts unknown.
13. Tang Jialiang（唐家梁）, male, postgraduate student at Beijing Institute of Technology, forcibly disappeared since early September 2018, missing.
14. Wu Lijie（吴立杰）, male, editor of a leftist media website Hongqi (红旗), taken from home on and forcibly disappeared October 24, 2018, missing.
15. Zhang Shengye（张圣业）, male, graduate of Peking University, taken from campus and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
16. Sun Min（孙敏）, female, graduate of Peking University, taken away in Guangzhou and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
17. Zong Yang（宗扬）, male, graduate of Peking University, taken away in Beijing and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
18. Liang Xiaogang（梁晓刚）, male, worker supporter, taken away in Shanghai and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
19. Tang Xiangwei（唐向伟）, male, worker supporter, taken away in Wuhan and forcibly disappeared on November 11, 2018, missing.
20. Zheng Shiyou（郑时友）, male, worker supporter, taken away in Wuhan and forcibly disappeared on November 11, 2018, missing.
21. Zheng Yiran（郑依然）, female, graduate of Beijing Language and Culture University, taken away in Beijing and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
22. Lu Daxing（吕大兴）, male, graduate of Nanjing University of Science and Technology, taken away in Beijing and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
23. Li Xiaoxian（李笑仙）, female, graduate of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, taken away in Beijing and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
24. He Pengchao（贺鹏超）, male, graduate of Peking University, founder of Qingying Dreamworks Social Worker Center (青鹰社工中心), taken away in Beijing and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
25. Wang Xiangyi（王相宜）, female, graduate of Peking University, founder of Qingying Dreamworks Social Worker Center (青鹰社工中心), taken away in Shenzhen and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
26. Jian Xiaowei（简小薇）, female, graduate of Renmin University, staff member of Qingying Dreamworks Social Worker Center (青鹰社工中心),  taken away in Shenzhen and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
27. Kang Yanyan（康妍妍）, female, graduate of University of Science and Technology Beijing, staff member of Qingying Dreamworks Social Worker Center (青鹰社工中心), taken away in Shenzhen and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
28. Hou Changshan（侯长珊）, female, Graduate of Beijing Foreign Studies University, staff member of Qingying Dreamworks Social Worker Center(青鹰社工中心), taken away in Shenzhen and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
29. Wang Xiaomei（王小妹）, female, graduate of Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, staff member of Qingying Dreamworks Social Worker Center (青鹰社工中心), taken away in Shenzhen and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
30. He Xiumei（何秀梅）, female, supporter of Qingying Dreamworks Social Worker Center (青鹰社工中心), taken away in Shenzhen and forcibly disappeared on November 9, 2018, missing.
31. Zou Liping（邹丽萍）, female, local trade union staff member, detained in Shenzhen on November 9, 2018, charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” whereabouts unknown.
32. Li Ao（李奥）, male, local trade union staff member, detained in Shenzhen on November 9, 2018, charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” whereabouts unknown.