Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation
Encyclopedia
The Beijing Workers’ Autonomous Federation (BWAF) or Beijing Workers’ Autonomous Union (simplified Chinese: 北京工人自治联合会; pinyin
: Běijīng gōngrén zìzhì liánhéhuì popularly referred to in Chinese as gōngzìlián, meaning “the workers’ federation”) was the main organization of workers calling for political change during the Tiananmen Square protests
of April, May, and June 1989. The group emerged spontaneously during mourning activities for former General Secretary Hu Yaobang
in April, 1989. It denounced corruption and presented itself as a genuinely independent union that would have “the function of supervising the Communist Party,” unlike the Party-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions
(ACFTU).
Although the BWAF did not establish branches in individual factories and workplaces, its influence and activities expanded when it resisted the imposition of martial law in May 1989. The BWAF itself was one of the casualties of the People’s Liberation Army’s violent suppression of protesters on the evening of June 3, 1989. After the military crackdown, authorities labeled the BWAF an “illegal organization” and arrested its leaders.
In the days after Hu Yaobang’s death on April 15, 1989, workers and other Beijing residents mourned and talked about politics at the Monument to the People’s Heroes
in Tiananmen Square
. On April 20, after university students staging a sit-in outside Zhongnanhai
said that they had been beaten by military police, a group of workers calling themselves the “Beijing Workers’ Autonomous Federation” responded by issuing two handbills
. The first document, “Letter to People of the Entire City,” decried “out of control” inflation, criticized corrupt officials, and called on “people from all walks of life to come together to fight for truth and the future of China.” The second handbill, “Ten Questions,” began by demanding that top Communist Party leaders reveal how much money Deng Xiaoping
’s son had gambled on horse racing and how much Zhao Ziyang
had spent playing golf. “Ten Questions” also wondered why “prices have risen without respite as the living standards of the people have dropped precipitously,” and asked top Party leaders to make their incomes public. More workers joined the movement after reading the handbills and hearing fiery speeches at Tiananmen Square, including one by Han Dongfang
, a railway worker who would become one of the BWAF’s top leaders.
In late April and the first half of May, between 70 and 80 worker activists met regularly at Tiananmen Square’s western viewing stand, but did not refer openly to their group as the BWAF. But in the week following students’ declaration of a hunger strike on May 13, the BWAF operated openly and actively. During this period BWAF members sought assistance from the ACFTU, China’s only officially approved labor union. Even though the ACFTU had encouraged workers to oppose corruption in April 1989 and donated 100,000 yuan for medical aid to the hunger strikers in May, it did not help the BWAF.
Rebuffed in its attempts to register the organization with government authorities, the group proclaimed its founding on May 18. A handbill dated May 20, 1989 declared that the BWAF was:
According to sociologists Andrew G. Walder and Gong Xiaoxia, the BWAF’s demand that it be allowed to independently represent worker interests subsumed specific proposals about workplace issues.
During the final week of May and the first days of June, membership in the BWAF grew, although estimates vary widely: one scholar writes that the group “claimed three thousand members”, while two former BWAF activists said that the group had registered “almost 20,000 members” by June 3, 1989. The BWAF limited its membership to people who could prove Beijing residency and affiliation with a work unit in the city.
, and Zhou Yongjun of the China University of Political Science and Law
, helped the BWAF by drafting documents and providing legal advice. Students also gave the BWAF broadcasting equipment and banners. Dingxin Zhao therefore concludes that, based on the accounts of former student leaders, the BWAF “was basically only an appendage of the student movement.”
In contrast, Walder and Gong’s interviews with former BWAF members portray significant friction between workers and students, suggesting that workers and students had conflicting goals. A key issue of contention was that workers were more critical of economic reforms (and Communist Party leaders associated with the reforms) than students were. For example, while many students expressed sympathy toward Zhao Ziyang and the reform faction, especially after Zhao’s visit to Tiananmen Square on May 19, 1989, the BWAF remained “consistently critical of Zhao Ziyang even after his fall from power.” In addition, former BWAF members said that they felt marginalized by the students’ insistence on maintaining the “purity” of the movement. At least twice in May, students stopped workers from establishing a headquarters in Tiananmen Square. At the end of the month, students finally allowed the BWAF to move from the western viewing stand into the square itself.
. Han fled on his bicycle to neighboring Hebei
province. On June 8, the Martial Law Command Headquarters issued a public notice declaring that the BWAF was an illegal organization and ordering it to disband. The notice said that BWAF leaders were among “the main instigators and organizers in the capital of the counter-revolutionary rebellion.” Han Dongfang and other BWAF members were arrested and imprisoned.
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Běijīng gōngrén zìzhì liánhéhuì popularly referred to in Chinese as gōngzìlián, meaning “the workers’ federation”) was the main organization of workers calling for political change during the Tiananmen Square protests
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
of April, May, and June 1989. The group emerged spontaneously during mourning activities for former General Secretary Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang was a leader of the People's Republic of China who served as both Chairman and Party General Secretary. Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of Deng Xiaoping...
in April, 1989. It denounced corruption and presented itself as a genuinely independent union that would have “the function of supervising the Communist Party,” unlike the Party-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions
All-China Federation of Trade Unions
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions , is the sole national trade union federation of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest trade union in the world with 134 million members in 1,713,000 primary trade union organizations...
(ACFTU).
Although the BWAF did not establish branches in individual factories and workplaces, its influence and activities expanded when it resisted the imposition of martial law in May 1989. The BWAF itself was one of the casualties of the People’s Liberation Army’s violent suppression of protesters on the evening of June 3, 1989. After the military crackdown, authorities labeled the BWAF an “illegal organization” and arrested its leaders.
Genesis, demands, and ideology
Even though economic reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping had improved the living standard of many urban workers, by 1988 many such workers considered themselves “losers in the decade of economic reform.” Corruption and inflation especially angered workers, and some responded with work slowdowns and wildcat strikes in 1988 and 1989.In the days after Hu Yaobang’s death on April 15, 1989, workers and other Beijing residents mourned and talked about politics at the Monument to the People’s Heroes
Monument to the People's Heroes
The Monument to the People's Heroes is a ten-story obelisk that was erected as a national monument of the People's Republic of China.The Monument was built in memory of the martyrs who laid down their lives for the revolutionary struggles of the Chinese people during the 19th and 20th centuries...
in Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...
. On April 20, after university students staging a sit-in outside Zhongnanhai
Zhongnanhai
Zhongnanhai is an area in central Beijing, China adjacent to the Forbidden City which serves as the central headquarters for the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The term Zhongnanhai is closely linked with the central government and senior Communist...
said that they had been beaten by military police, a group of workers calling themselves the “Beijing Workers’ Autonomous Federation” responded by issuing two handbills
Student posters and leaflets during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
During the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, many big-character posters, banners and leaflets appeared. These posters and leaflets became an important source throughout the course of the student movement. They provided valuable information and insight into the goals, slogans and instructions that...
. The first document, “Letter to People of the Entire City,” decried “out of control” inflation, criticized corrupt officials, and called on “people from all walks of life to come together to fight for truth and the future of China.” The second handbill, “Ten Questions,” began by demanding that top Communist Party leaders reveal how much money Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
’s son had gambled on horse racing and how much Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang was a high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China . He was the third Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1987 to 1989....
had spent playing golf. “Ten Questions” also wondered why “prices have risen without respite as the living standards of the people have dropped precipitously,” and asked top Party leaders to make their incomes public. More workers joined the movement after reading the handbills and hearing fiery speeches at Tiananmen Square, including one by Han Dongfang
Han Dongfang
Han Dongfang has been an advocate for workers' rights in China for more than two decades during which time he has won numerous international awards including the 1993 Democracy Award from the U.S...
, a railway worker who would become one of the BWAF’s top leaders.
In late April and the first half of May, between 70 and 80 worker activists met regularly at Tiananmen Square’s western viewing stand, but did not refer openly to their group as the BWAF. But in the week following students’ declaration of a hunger strike on May 13, the BWAF operated openly and actively. During this period BWAF members sought assistance from the ACFTU, China’s only officially approved labor union. Even though the ACFTU had encouraged workers to oppose corruption in April 1989 and donated 100,000 yuan for medical aid to the hunger strikers in May, it did not help the BWAF.
Rebuffed in its attempts to register the organization with government authorities, the group proclaimed its founding on May 18. A handbill dated May 20, 1989 declared that the BWAF was:
According to sociologists Andrew G. Walder and Gong Xiaoxia, the BWAF’s demand that it be allowed to independently represent worker interests subsumed specific proposals about workplace issues.
During the final week of May and the first days of June, membership in the BWAF grew, although estimates vary widely: one scholar writes that the group “claimed three thousand members”, while two former BWAF activists said that the group had registered “almost 20,000 members” by June 3, 1989. The BWAF limited its membership to people who could prove Beijing residency and affiliation with a work unit in the city.
Relationship with student protesters
Scholars disagree about whether the BWAF cooperated or clashed with student protesters. Sociologist Dingxin Zhao writes that student leaders, including Li Jinjin, a law student at Peking UniversityPeking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
, and Zhou Yongjun of the China University of Political Science and Law
China University of Political Science and Law
China University of Political Science and Law is a university in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Its law school is considered one of the best in China. In 2009, The Ministry of Education ranked CUPL 2nd among top law schools in China. CUPL has two campuses, one in Haidian, which is the...
, helped the BWAF by drafting documents and providing legal advice. Students also gave the BWAF broadcasting equipment and banners. Dingxin Zhao therefore concludes that, based on the accounts of former student leaders, the BWAF “was basically only an appendage of the student movement.”
In contrast, Walder and Gong’s interviews with former BWAF members portray significant friction between workers and students, suggesting that workers and students had conflicting goals. A key issue of contention was that workers were more critical of economic reforms (and Communist Party leaders associated with the reforms) than students were. For example, while many students expressed sympathy toward Zhao Ziyang and the reform faction, especially after Zhao’s visit to Tiananmen Square on May 19, 1989, the BWAF remained “consistently critical of Zhao Ziyang even after his fall from power.” In addition, former BWAF members said that they felt marginalized by the students’ insistence on maintaining the “purity” of the movement. At least twice in May, students stopped workers from establishing a headquarters in Tiananmen Square. At the end of the month, students finally allowed the BWAF to move from the western viewing stand into the square itself.
Crackdown and arrests
The PLA’s armed crackdown on protesters ended the BWAF’s short existence. Late on the evening of June 3, 1989, a group of young people escorted BWAF leader Han Dongfang away from Tiananmen Square. As the youth tried to persuade Han to leave, they compared him to Polish Solidarity leader Lech WałęsaLech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 95.Wałęsa was an electrician...
. Han fled on his bicycle to neighboring Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
province. On June 8, the Martial Law Command Headquarters issued a public notice declaring that the BWAF was an illegal organization and ordering it to disband. The notice said that BWAF leaders were among “the main instigators and organizers in the capital of the counter-revolutionary rebellion.” Han Dongfang and other BWAF members were arrested and imprisoned.