From Los Angeles Times:
When Jiang Dabao lost his right hand to a molding machine three years ago, his factory boss said he wasn’t eligible for workers’ compensation. Unemployable, Jiang whiled away his days in the Internet bars that thrive here in China’s manufacturing heartland.
Eventually he tapped into an online forum on QQ, a popular social networking service, where he found a workers advocacy group that helped him win a $30,000 settlement.
“Before I got hurt, I had no idea how to use a computer or even the Internet,” said Jiang, who identified himself by his childhood nickname for fear of official reprisal.
Forums such as the one used by Jiang have become the Chinese proletariat’s equivalent of Facebook or Twitter. And the conversations taking place on those channels are seen by some as the faint beginnings of a labor movement, and one that might have muscle.
