South China Shoe Factory Strike Swells

A strike that has stretched to over two weeks at a south China athletic shoe factory complex has swelled to 60,000 disgruntled workers and over 3,000 police to contain them, says Hong Kong media. The strike, at Yu Yuen Industrial’s enormous 10 factory shoemaking complex in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, has defied police efforts to shut down the growing mass of angry workers. Yesterday authorities pulled thousands of armed police from across Guangdong to suppress the protest. Workers are angry at the factory owner’s refusal to pay back social security funds and meet worker housing commitments.