As the Chongqing taxi strike comes to a close, two new sets of strikes erupted this week: in Gansu, strikes have reportedly already ended, but in Sanya, strikes continue. The Sanya protests are in their third day, as taxi drivers continue to protest high fees, unlicensed cabs, and the detention of 28 fellow taxi drivers, the South China Morning Post reports. Currently, the government is investigating claims of violence during the Sanya strikes.

The blog Black and White Cat has translated a post from a young Beijing professor, Xu Zhirong, who wrote about his experience exposing one of Beijing’s “black jails” - extrajudicial detention centres run by thugs who help repatriate petitioners for local or provincial governments.

From Fortune 500 companies to mom-and-pop small businesses, companies of all types around the world will be hit by the worldwide financial turmoil. This has prompted a worldwide debate about whether or not CSR programs and CSR departments will be able to survive this tough economic climate.

The South China Morning Post reports today that a journalist for Oriental Outlook magazine, Sun Chunlong, was forced to suppress his reporting about a mine cover-up that killed at least 40 people in Shanxi. The accident occurred on August 1, 2008 at a mine owned by Tianyuan Iron and Steel, a key SOE that makes important for China’s military and space programs.

Is decreasing the salaries of leaders at Central Government Owned SOE’s and putting a black mark on their annual career review a sufficient response to huge disasters at coalmines, chemical plants, and construction sites and other dangerous industries? A recent editorial in the China Youth Daily doesn’t think so. 

Danwei has translated an interesting article from Southern Window (南方窗) about Hu Xiaoyan- one of the migrant worker NPC representatives. The article discusses not only the mixed emotions and high expectations other migrant workers have towards Hu, but also about the personal stress that she has endured since becoming a delegate.

 “From the hell that is China, workers travel to the hell that is the undocumented person’s Britain.”

CLB whole heartedly endorses the Catch the Flame initiative launched today by Play Fair 2008.

Catch the Flame is a virtual torch relay supported by a global alliance of trade unions, non-governmental organizations, labour groups and concerned individuals, designed to draw attention to the maltreatment and exploitation of workers in the merchandise industry of the Olympic Games in Beijing (2008), Vancouver (Winter 2010) and London (2012).