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Chinese Political Prisoner Labour Lawyer Xu Jian

Biographical notes

Warren Allmand, President of Rights & Democracy, has written to Prime Minister Chrétien requesting that he intervene in the case of labour lawyer Xu Jian when he meets Chinese officials during the Team Canada mission to China.

Montreal, February 8, 2001 ? Warren Allmand, President of Rights & Democracy has written to Prime Minister Chr?tien requesting that he intervene in the case of labour lawyer Xu Jian when he meets Chinese officials during the Team Canada mission to China. Background information on this political prisoner is included here.

Chinese labour lawyer Xu Jian was detained on December 31, 1999 and sentenced on July 18, 2000 to four years' imprisonment for his defence of labour rights.

Until his imprisonment, Xu Jian practised law in the northern city of Baotou, where many of his clients were workers at two state-owned machinery and steel factories. A former factory worker himself, Xu took on labour dispute cases, ran a hotline providing legal counselling to workers, and distributed leaflets outlining workers' legal rights as set out within China's labour code. One of the leaflets, entitled "Workers can Say No", listed legal provisions on remuneration, working hours and overtime pay; others focused on workers' rights regarding factory closures and layoffs.

"What differentiates Xu Jian from other lawyers," said Han Dongfang of the China Labour Bulletin, "is his idea that the ultimate defence of workers' rights lies in the collective strength of the workers themselves...He constantly reminded the workers of their right to elect shop-level union officials, and the jurisdiction of the workers' congress in state enterprises, which supposedly has a say in making major decisions regarding the enterprise's operation."

Although Xu Jian adhered strictly to China's labour laws in his work, he was charged in 1999 with "incitement to subvert state power". In court, the prosecution charged that Xu had received funds from a "hostile element outside of China" and used them to "incite the overthrow of the Chinese state". The judge sentenced Xu to four years' imprisonment, and deprivation of political rights for three years after his release.

Xu Jian is married with one 11-year old daughter. He contracted hepatitis in detention, and his condition is reported to be serious.