[5] The dispute began on 27 July 2018 when a group of workers of Jasic Technology Co., Ltd., dissatisfied by low pay, poor working conditions, and long shifts sought to form a trade union.
The protests consisted of public demonstrations, labour strikes, and direct action, and have been described as being largely Marxist[7] and Maoist[8] in nature.
Jasic Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in 2005 and later listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the company is chiefly involved in the fabrication of various welder and welding products.
Pan Lei serves as chief executive officer (CEO) of Jasic, along with CFO Xia Ruyi, and board secretary Rui Li.
[11] However, AsiaNews reports that workers complained that working conditions at the factory had deteriorated severely and that wages, as well as social security and housing funds, had been cut, and the company treated them "like slaves".
As economic growth stagnates and income inequality grows within China more students have begun to express interest in far-left politics, particularly that of Marxism and Maoism.
[17] One day later, Wu Jingtang, who had been a leader during the Tonghua Iron and Steel Group riot ten years ago, called for joining the struggle: "For an awakening of the working class, for Chairman Mao!"
[22] In late July, former workers at the company allegedly took direct action against the Shenzhen plant, breaking into the factory and attempting to disrupt production by sabotage.
Zhang Qinde, a retiree from the CCP's Central Policy Research Office and a Maoist intellectual, gave an unrehearsed speech, saying that "We must stand with the working classes and advance and retreat with the Jasic workers.
"[25]: 160 On 11 August, Shen Mengyu, a graduate student from Sun Yat-sen University, was bundled into a car by three unidentified men and had since been missing.
Students around Shen reported the abduction to the police, who doubted their story and told them that the video cameras in the area where the incident occurred were broken.
"[26] On 19 August, Peking University Yue Xin published an open letter to paramount leader and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping reading, On behalf of all members of the Solidarity Regiment, I said to the Party Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping that all members of the Solidarity and I will strengthen political consciousness, strengthen the beliefs of Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, and firmly stand on the position of the great working class.
On the morning of 24 August 2018, police raided an apartment that served as a location for workers and students to organize, detaining about 50 people, who were singing L'Internationale at the time of being arrested.
The interviewed member of the solidarity groups also accused Xinhua of "fabricating stories" and using "foreign forces" to cover up the facts.
[44][45] Furthermore, according to The Guardian, the movement had gained a following within the Chinese political elite, particularly among retired party officials who opposed the economic policy of CCP general secretary Xi Jinping.
[47] Jacobin columnists Elaine Hui of Pennsylvania State University and Eli Friedman condemned the suppression of the Jasic workers union and the student protesters.