Jackie Sheehan Boeken

Focusing on the history of labor unrest, the book explores significant events such as the Hundred Flowers movement, the Cultural Revolution, and the 1989 Democracy Movement, revealing the complexities of workers' protests in China. Jackie Sheehan presents a comprehensive analysis that challenges the perception of Chinese workers as mere supporters of the Communist Party, illustrating their active resistance and highlighting the continuity of labor struggles throughout the decades. This work provides a deeper understanding of the political dynamics affecting industrial life in China.

Jackie Sheehan traces the background and development of workers clashes with the Chinese Communist Party through mass campaigns such as the 1956-7 Hundred Flowers movement, the Cultural Revolution, the April Fifth Movement of 1976, Democracy Wall and the 1989 Democracy Movement. The author provides the most detailed and complete picture of workers protest in China to date and locates their position within the context of Chinese political history. Chinese Workers demonstrates that the image of Chinese workers as politically conformist and reliable supporters of the Communist Party does not match the realities of industrial life in China. Recent outbreaks of protest by workers are less of a departure from the past than is generally realized.