Asia
Sri Lankan SEP and IYSSE hold successful meeting on India’s Kashmir lockdown
By our correspondents, 19 October 2019
“The Modi government’s anti-democratic moves are not just directed against the Kashmiri people, although they are the immediate target, but against the working class as a whole.”
Tens of thousands of Indian transport and aircraft manufacturing workers strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
19 October 2019
Some 49,000 transport workers in the state of Telangana walked-out in defiance of government threats to their jobs, while more than 20,000 employees of a state-owned defence company took strike action.
India: Thousands of Telangana transport workers strike; Darjeeling tea estate workers demand higher pay; New Zealand medical laboratory workers strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
12 October 2019
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US and China reach limited trade deal
By Nick Beams, 12 October 2019
The markets responded enthusiastically with the Dow finishing up by more than 300 points, but for all the celebrations, the agreement is very limited.
Hong Kong’s chief executive invokes emergency law against protest movement
By Ben McGrath, 5 October 2019
The use of this British colonial era law is a warning that the ruling class in the Hong Kong and Beijing are preparing to suppress the months-long demonstrations for basic democratic rights.
Thousands of Assam tea workers strike over bonus payments; 17,000 non-academic university workers remain on strike in Sri Lanka
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
5 October 2019
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Indonesia: Student unrest continues as tens of thousands of workers set to strike
By Oscar Grenfell, 4 October 2019
Police have responded to the largest student demonstrations since the movement that toppled the Suharto dictatorship in 1998 with violent repression and mass arrests.
Half a million Indian coal workers strike; New South Wales coal miners fight for higher pay; Fenner Dunlop strike continues in Australia
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
28 September 2019
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South Korean autoworkers join global fight against GM
By Ben McGrath, 26 September 2019
Workers in South Korea, the United States, and around the world face the same fight against GM and other corporations.
India’s top court greenlights New Delhi prolonging Kashmir state-of-siege indefinitely
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 21 September 2019
India’s Hindu-supremacist BJP government has imposed an unprecedented security clampdown to suppress mass opposition to the constitutional coup it mounted against Kashmir August 5.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
GM workers in South Korea strike over wages; Pakistan higher education teachers walkout; Psychologists continue industrial action in New Zealand
21 September 2019
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Thousands of Sri Lankan university workers demonstrate in Colombo
By our correspondents, 19 September 2019
In contrast to the efforts of the unions to shut down the strike, workers’ opposition is growing, not only to the government but also to the unions and capitalist parties.
Hundreds of thousands of Indian auto workers face sackings and wage cuts
By Saman Gunadasa, 18 September 2019
The assault on Indian workers is part of the escalating global attack on the jobs, wages and working conditions of auto workers in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia.
Widodo plans to move Indonesian capital to Borneo
By Owen Howell, 17 September 2019
The government’s move to relocate the country’s administrative centre is aimed at removing itself from the social disaster of Jakarta, but will potentially create an environmental disaster on Borneo.
Sri Lanka: Tamil People’s Council calls rally to stir up Tamil nationalism
By M. Thevarajah, 14 September 2019
The reactionary “Rise up Tamils” campaign aims to divide Sri Lankan workers along ethnic lines as they are coming into struggle against Colombo’s austerity measures.
India: Kolkata students and workers demand freedom for Assange and Manning
By Ritwik Mitter and Arun Kumar, 11 September 2019
ICFI supporters spoke to students at Jadavpur University in Kolkata and workers from BSNL, the Indian government-owned telecommunication company.
As contract deadline looms in US, 8,000 GM autoworkers strike in South Korea
By James Cogan, 10 September 2019
The issues over which the Korean workers are striking are ones that their American co-workers will readily identify with.
Build action committees! Expand the strike!
A socialist perspective for the Sri Lankan university employees’ struggle
By the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), 10 September 2019
Non-academic university staff, who are beginning an indefinite strike today, should expand their struggle by appealing to other sections of the working class.
Hong Kong administration seeks to split protest movement
By Peter Symonds, 5 September 2019
By withdrawing the extradition legislation, chief executive Carrie Lam is seeking the support of conservative protest leaders to pave the way for the suppression of more militant layers.
India labels 1.9 million Assam residents “foreigners” as prelude to their mass expulsion
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 5 September 2019
Almost all of the 1.9 million people who have been deemed “foreigners”—some 6 percent of Assam’s population—are Bengali-speaking, and more than 90 percent of them are impoverished Muslims.
Tens of thousands join first day of Hong Kong protest strike
By Peter Symonds, 3 September 2019
The union confederation is doing all it can to limit action by workers and confine their demands to those of the official pro-capitalist opposition in Hong Kong.
Two-day strike begins in Hong Kong following weekend of protests
By Ben McGrath, 2 September 2019
Fearful of the intervention of the working class, authorities are stepping up their repression of protesters.
Motherson autoworkers strike in India; Madhya Pradesh railway workers oppose privatisation; Melbourne tram workers walk out
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
31 August 2019
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Hong Kong mass rally banned as Chinese troops deployed in show of force
By Mike Head, 30 August 2019
Beijing is well aware that the protracted protests are being driven by underlying student and working class concerns about escalating social inequality.
US alarmed over end to South Korea-Japan intelligence sharing
By Peter Symonds, 30 August 2019
Seoul’s decision to withdraw from a key intelligence-sharing agreement with Tokyo is part of the deepening rift between Washington’s two military allies in North East Asia over economic and strategic issues.
Sri Lankan president “lifts” emergency but armed forces mobilised to “maintain security”
By W.A. Sunil, 29 August 2019
When emergency rule was imposed after the April terrorist bombings, the SEP warned that the real target of the government’s measures was not terrorists, but the working class.
The US announces provocative arms sale to Taiwan
By Peter Symonds, 27 August 2019
The $8 billion sale of 66 F-16V fighter jets is the first such deal since the administration of President George H.W. Bush approved the sale of 150 fighter jets to Taiwan in 1992.
Hong Kong protests continue into twelfth week
By Peter Symonds, 26 August 2019
Clashes with police took place involving for the first time the use of water cannon as well as tear gas and batons as police attempted to disperse protesters.
Wall Street falls as US-China trade conflict intensifies
By Nick Beams, 24 August 2019
Tweets by Trump in response to tariff measures by Beijing were his most belligerent to date, taking aim not only against China, but US corporations and the Federal Reserve.
Rift widens between Australia and Pacific Island states
By John Braddock, 24 August 2019
The Pacific Islands Forum has opened up a bitter dispute over the Australian government’s refusal to agree to urgent measures to address climate change.
How to fight for democratic rights in Hong Kong
By Peter Symonds, 22 August 2019
Hong Kong workers and youth need to reach out to their class brothers and sisters in China who confront the same class enemy—the Stalinist regime in Beijing that defends the interests of the corporate elite and the super-rich.
Japan-South Korea conflict intensifies
By Nick Beams, 17 August 2019
South Korea announced this week that it has removed Japan from a list of countries that qualify for accelerated supply of South Korean products, after Japan had imposed a similar measure against South Korea on August 2.
State of siege in Kashmir: A warning to the international working class
By Bill Van Auken, 17 August 2019
Western governments and media have maintained virtual silence over the police state crackdown against 13 million Kashmiris.
Indian chemical workers oppose privatisation; Bangladesh garment workers protest for unpaid wages; Australian rail and tram workers to take industrial action
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
17 August 2019
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Hong Kong protests met with denunciations and threats
By Peter Symonds, 14 August 2019
The muted response to the threats of Chinese intervention reflects fear in ruling circles internationally that events in Hong Kong could be replicated in cities around the world.
Protest sit-in shuts Hong Kong international airport
By Peter Symonds, 13 August 2019
The closure of the world’s eighth biggest airport, following on from last week’s general strike, marks a significant deepening of the political crisis in Hong Kong.
Eight-hour power blackout hits Indonesian capital
By Owen Howell, 12 August 2019
The Indonesian government has failed to meet the basic infrastructure demands of the rapidly growing Greater Jakarta, a megacity of 30 million people.
Indo-Pakistani conflict sharpens with New Delhi’s assault on Kashmir
By Keith Jones, 9 August 2019
In response to India’s aggressive and patently illegal moves to tighten its control over disputed Kashmir, Pakistan has taken a raft of retaliatory measures and issued thinly-veiled war threats.
General strike signals entry of working class into Hong Kong protests
By Peter Symonds, 7 August 2019
The mass protests in Hong Kong, which have continued for more than two months, are part of the resurgence of the working class internationally.
Sri Lankan parliamentary parties back extension of emergency rule
By Saman Gunadasa, 7 August 2019
The endorsement came four days after President Sirisena declared that the railways and public transport were essential services, effectively banning strikes in those sectors.
Tens of thousands of workers strike throughout Hong Kong
By Ben McGrath, 6 August 2019
The ruling class throughout the world is deeply fearful of the spread of social discontent as the working class moves into open struggle for its democratic and social rights.
US-China trade conflict escalates to currency war
By Nick Beams, 6 August 2019
Stock markets fell sharply around the world yesterday, amid fears of a currency war, after China allowed its currency, the renminbi, to pass through the benchmark of 7 to the US dollar.
General strike by Hong Kong workers against extradition law
By Peter Symonds, 5 August 2019
The strike signals the entry of the working class, on a class basis, into the mass protest movement, pointing to the underlying social and economic issues driving the opposition.
Bangladesh primary school teachers demand government nationalise schools
By Wimal Perera, 5 August 2019
Even if non-government primary schools are taken over by the Hasina government there is no guarantee that teachers and school staff will be regularly paid.
Indian doctors hold national 24-hour walkout; Chinese auto workers strike; Australian railway workers vote for industrial action
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
3 August 2019
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Trump escalates trade war against China
By Nick Beams, 2 August 2019
The decision to impose a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, covering a wide range of consumer products, represents the most significant intensification of the more than year-long trade war to date.
Millions displaced and hundreds killed by monsoonal floods in South Asia
By Rohantha De Silva, 31 July 2019
South Asian governments have responded with apathy and indifference toward the poverty-stricken people severely impacted by the floods.
Layoffs mount as slump in world auto industry deepens
By Shannon Jones, 30 July 2019
Continuing sales declines, led by China and India, are leading to massive job losses and attacks on autoworkers as transnational companies seek to maintain high levels of return.
Factory explosion in central Chinese city kills 15
By Robert Campion, 30 July 2019
Claims by authorities to address safety after such industrial accidents have proven to be empty words.
Amid growing signs of global slowdown
US-China trade talks to resume next week
By Nick Beams, 25 July 2019
The conflict has become more fraught since the US Commerce Department decided to place Huawei on its entity list, effectively banning it from supplies of US components for its operations.
Japan’s ruling party wins upper house election
By Ben McGrath, 24 July 2019
The opposition parties in the National Diet will not offer any real opposition to Abe’s efforts to revise Article 9, the antimilitary provision in the Japanese constitution.
Gang members attack Hong Kong protesters
By Ben McGrath, 23 July 2019
Beijing and local authorities are fearful that the Hong Kong protest movement will spread to the mainland and are employing increasingly violent means against it.
Indonesian court backs Widodo’s election
By John Roberts, 23 July 2019
With the presidency and parliamentary numbers settled for now, sordid deals are being made among the different sections of the ruling elite.
Fire at Japanese animation studio leaves nearly three dozen dead
By Ben McGrath, 22 July 2019
A man suffering mental illness is alleged to have ignited the inferno in a building that lacked basic fire safety measures.
Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka intensifies the campaign to free Julian Assange
By our correspondents, 22 July 2019
The Sri Lankan Trotskyists held a well-attended public meeting in Colombo and a powerful rally in Jaffna.
Plastic waste from foreign nations dumped in East Java village
By Owen Howell, 20 July 2019
With China blocking imports of recyclable waste, developed countries have now resorted to illegally smuggling plastic into Indonesia and other parts of South East Asia.
Thousands protest in central China against proposed waste incinerator
By Robert Campion, 19 July 2019
The Wuhan protests are an expression of the growing social discontent throughout China, occurring at the same time as the mass demonstrations in Hong Kong.
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna calls for removal of Sri Lankan government
By K. Ratnayake, 18 July 2019
Under conditions of political crisis, in which the main parties of government are widely discredited, the JVP is proposing itself as the party capable of saving the capitalist system.
China’s growth slows to lowest level since 1992
By Nick Beams, 17 July 2019
While the growth figure is still within the official target range, there are clearly growing concerns in Beijing that it could go lower in the months ahead.
Sri Lankan prime minister promotes US defence agreement
By Vijith Samarasinghe and K. Ratnayake, 15 July 2019
Although Wickremesinghe has tabled a planned Status of Forces Agreement with the US, its contents and political implications remain a secret for millions of Sri Lankans.
Indian aeronautic workers threaten national walkout; Pakistan power workers demand safe, permanent jobs; Taiwan union ends flight attendants’ strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
13 July 2019
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Hong Kong protesters appeal to mainland Chinese for support
By Ben McGrath, 9 July 2019
The unity of the Chinese working class as a whole is a prerequisite for the struggle for democratic rights and social equality.
Hong Kong protests continue amid Beijing’s veiled threats of military intervention
By Ben McGrath, 6 July 2019
In an unusual move, China’s military reported on drills the day after another mass rally.
Tamil Nadu government bans strikes in auto component industries
By Arun Kumar and Kranti Kumara, 6 July 2019
The ruling class's major goal is to transform India into a premier center of global auto manufacturing by imposing brutal working conditions.
Indonesian factory fire claims lives of 30 women and children
By Owen Howell, 6 July 2019
The tragic deaths of factory employees is yet another example of the national government showing its indifference for the working poor.
Punjab Roadways workers strike for three days; thousands of Bangladesh municipal workers strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
6 July 2019
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Hundreds of thousands protest on the streets of Hong Kong
By Peter Symonds, 2 July 2019
Mass protests have persisted, despite the suspension of the extradition legislation, pointing to a deeper social and political crisis.
Trump meets North Korean leader as part of broader anti-China agenda
By Ben McGrath, 1 July 2019
Washington’s approach to North Korea has nothing to do with peace on the Korean Peninsula, but is about drawing Pyongyang into Washington’s orbit.
Sri Lankan railway unions cave in to government’s strike ban
By Saman Gunadasa, 1 July 2019
The RTUA’s betrayal has once again demonstrated that workers cannot defend their democratic rights and fight for jobs and decent working conditions through the trade unions.
Sharp downturn in Sri Lankan economic growth
By Dilruwan Vithanage, 27 June 2019
International credit rating agency Moody’s revised down its prediction for this year from 3.4 percent to 2.6 percent.
Chinese and North Korean leaders pledge closer links at Pyongyang summit
By Ben McGrath, 25 June 2019
The United States will not welcome closer relations between the two Stalinist regimes as it tries to pull the North into its own orbit.
US names Taiwan a “country,” stoking tensions with China
By Robert Campion, 21 June 2019
Washington deepens ties with Taipei in preparation for war against mainland China.
Further Hong Kong protests planned against extradition law
By Peter Symonds, 20 June 2019
The widespread opposition reflects deep fears that the bill, which will allow extradition proceedings to mainland China, will enable Beijing to seize political dissidents.
Sri Lankan government moves to criminalise “fake news”
By Naveen Dewage, 19 June 2019
Colombo’s new laws to censor and control the internet and social media are moves towards the establishment of dictatorial forms of rule.
Millions march in Hong Kong against extradition law
By Ben McGrath, 17 June 2019
The huge demonstration on Sunday is an indication of widespread anger in Hong Kong, not only over democratic rights, but the city’s worsening social crisis.
US secretary of state declares “military response” to Iran “being considered”
By Peter Symonds, 17 June 2019
Clearly Japan and Germany simply do not believe the US allegations against Iran and suspect that the tankers attacks could well be a US provocation to provide the pretext for war.
Hong Kong extradition bill debate delayed as additional protests called
By Ben McGrath, 14 June 2019
None of the demands for democratic rights in Hong Kong or throughout China will be won through the “pan-democratic” opposition parties or by appeals to US imperialism.
Police crackdown against Hong Kong protesters opposing extradition bill
By Ben McGrath, 13 June 2019
Beijing fears the spread of the protests into China, as social inequality and tensions rise in both Hong Kong and the mainland.
CIA’s murky ties to North Korean leader’s slain half-brother
By Peter Symonds, 13 June 2019
If nothing else, the revelation that the CIA held meetings with Kim Jong-nam demonstrates, once again, just how extensive are its efforts to spy on, and intervene in, every country.
Sri Lankan workers need a socialist program to defeat Colombo’s police-state preparations
By the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), 12 June 2019
All factions of the warring Sri Lankan bourgeoisie are united in the use of communalism to divide the working class and in moves towards police-state rule.
Union sabotaging South Korean shipbuilding workers’ strike
By Ben McGrath, 10 June 2019
The Korean Metal Workers Union is incapable of defending workers whose positions are being slashed as part of a global assault on jobs.
Mass protests erupt in Hong Kong
By Peter Symonds, 10 June 2019
The fight for democratic rights in Hong Kong will go forward only to the extent that it turns to and champions the struggles of the Chinese workers for their democratic and social rights.
The Tiananmen Square massacre, 30 years on
By Peter Symonds, 8 June 2019
What was lacking in the 1989 protests was not determination, audacity and courage, nor numbers, but revolutionary leadership—the essential problem facing the international working class in the 20th century.
Thousands of Bangladesh bidi cigarette workers demonstrate; Taiwanese flight attendants protest harsh conditions; New Zealand hospital workers strike at Waikato
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
8 June 2019
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From the archives
Ten years since the Tiananmen Square massacre
Political lessons for the working class
By James Cogan, 7 June 2019
The article confirms the essential analysis of the ICFI in 1989 that the terror unleashed by the Stalinist bureaucracy was above all directed against the working class that had risen in revolt against its policies of capitalist restoration.
Sri Lankan Trotskyists win strong support for Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning
By our correspondents, 7 June 2019
University students voice their concerns about the US-led assaults on Assange and Manning and speak out in defence of free speech.
From the archives:
Trotskyism and the Chinese Revolution
By Editorial of the Fourth International magazine, 6 June 2019
The following editorial in the January-June 1989 edition of the Fourth International magazine on the Tiananmen Square massacre is an indictment of Stalinism and its opportunist apologists from the standpoint of orthodox Trotskyism.
Sri Lankan Muslim ministers resign amid growing threats of anti-Muslim violence
By K. Ratnayake, 6 June 2019
Every faction of the ruling elite is systematically using Islamophobia to divide the working class along ethnic and religious lines as part of its preparations for autocratic forms of rule.
South Korean shipbuilding workers oppose massive job cuts
By Ben McGrath, 3 June 2019
The Korean Metal Workers Union has deliberately limited industrial action and isolated the shipyard workers to prevent a broader struggle against capitalist exploitation.
Arch-communalist Modi sworn-in as India’s prime minister for second time
By Deepal Jayasekera, 1 June 2019
Big business, reports the Economic Times, wants the government placed on a “war footing” to rapidly implement “investor friendly reforms.”
Thousands of childcare workers demonstrate in Karnataka; South Korean shipyard workers protest downsizing; NZ secondary teachers maintain industrial action
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
1 June 2019
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Tensions with China to escalate following Trump’s visit to Japan
By Ben McGrath, 30 May 2019
US military sales to Japan threaten to trigger a broader arms race in the Asia-Pacific.
Why ISIS launched a terror attack on Sri Lanka
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 29 May 2019
The US has, over the past four years, taken steps to transform Sri Lanka into an important base for its military operations throughout the region, including the Middle East.
Stalinist CPM and CPI suffer meltdown in India’s national election
By Deepal Jayasekera, 27 May 2019
The Stalinists’ electoral debacle is the outcome of their decades-long political suppression of the working class and key role in implementing a “pro-market,” “pro-investor” agenda.
Germany continues deportations to Afghanistan
By Marianne Arens, 25 May 2019
Just days before the European elections, the charter flight to the war-torn country exposes the deadly practice carried out by both the federal and state governments.
Chowel India auto-parts workers arrested; Chinese teachers protest over pay; Fast food workers strike in New Zealand
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
25 May 2019
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Indian big business propels Modi and his Hindu supremacist BJP to a second term
By Keith Jones, 24 May 2019
For decades the Stalinists have justified their support for right-wing governments by claiming this would block the BJP’s path to power, but the end result is that the BJP and Hindu right are a greater menace than ever.
Amid worsening trade war, Chinese president calls for new “Long March”
By Peter Symonds, 24 May 2019
Xi Jinping’s remarks were a rallying cry to the Chinese bureaucracy as it confronts global economic instability, US trade war measures and rising social unrest.
Tamil nationalists support anti-Muslim witch-hunt in Sri Lanka
By V. Gnana and K. Nesan, 24 May 2019
The bourgeois Tamil National Alliance is joining hands with the government as it sets up a police state targeting the entire working class.
The Indian elections and the fight to free the Maruti Suzuki class war prisoners
By Saman Gunadasa, 23 May 2019
Completely blacked out from the election campaign has been any discussion of the plight of the 13 Maruti Suzuki workers who have been jailed for life on frame-up murder charges.
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