Feature story on workers in China petitioning authorities for compensation for lost lands and jobs.
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 11, 2004
BEIJING – In a shabby alley in southern Beijing, worlds away from the imposing hall where the politically powerful plot China’s future, the country’s aggrieved and downtrodden come to beg for a fair hearing. Few are listening.
“Please – take a picture. No one cares,” said Tang Guru. She pulls out photos and a banner written three years earlier detailing her tale of woe: a husband dead after a work-related accident, the collapse of her cave home in the barren hills of north China’s Shanxi province.
“I have no means of support. Please help,” said Tang, 57, wiping away tears Wednesday as she leaned heavily on a crutch.
Closing the door of a public restroom to speak in private, Hai Guangqing, a laid off factory worker from Shanxi, detailed her grievances against her bosses and the officials that they say have violated labor laws by failing to provide any welfare or unemployment support.
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