Great Strike of February 7

(Redirected from February 7th Strike)

The Great Strike of February 7th[a] or Peking-Hankow Railway Workers' Great Strike[b] was a general strike which took place in February 1923.[1]

Great Strike of February 7th
Peking-Hankow Railway Workers Great Strike
Part of the first labor movement upsurge in China
After the founding of New China, in July 1951, a public trial sentenced Zhao Jixian to death, who was considered a culprit behind the deaths of the workers. On the walls in the photo, portrayed are Ge Shugui, Wu Zhen, unknown, Shi Yang and Li Xiangqian, who died in the strike.
Date4th–7th Feb 1923
Location
along the Peking–Hankow railway, mainly Changxindian Subdistrict, Zhengzhou and Hankou
Caused byAt the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese workers were treated poorly and were deeply exploited;
The establishment of trade unions was blocked.
Goals
  • Remove Zhao Jixian, director of the Railway Bureau, and Feng Jun, chief of the southern section; remove and investigate Huang Dianchen;
  • The Road Bureau compensated the loss of 6,000 yuan for the inaugural meeting;
  • Withdraw the garrison of the Zhengzhou branch trade union, return the plaque to the Federation of Trade Unions and apologize;
  • Set Sunday and one week off during the lunar new year as paid rest days.
MethodsStrikes, processions, collective agreements, solidarity actions and picketings
Resulted inFailed. Wuhan, Changxindian, and Zhengzhou were under martial law. The Beiyang Army and police entered Jiang'an and Changxindian to intervene and disperse the striking workers. Before the National Revolutionary Army's Northern Expedition to liberate Wuhan, the trade unions went underground.
Parties
Chinese Communist Party
Kuomintang

Beijing-Hankou Railway Federation of Workers' Unions

Workers of Peking-Hankow railway
Zhili clique

Peking-Hankow Railway Bureau
Lead figures

Zhang Guotao
Xiang Ying
Chen Tanqiu
Luo Zhanglong
Lin Yunan

Lin Xiangqian
Yang Defu
Shi Yang

Wu Peifu
Cao Kun
Xiao Yaonan
Zhang Housheng

Zhao Jixian
Feng Yun
Drucker

Casualties and losses
52 dead
200 or more injured
Zhengzhou Memorial Tower for Great Strike of February 7 in Zhengzhou, Henan

At the beginning it was only an internal rally, but under the intervention of Beiyang cliques it eventually developed into a general strike. The situation uncontrollably escalated into bloody clashes in which soldiers and police shot workers, 52 of whom were killed. In the strike also about hundred people injured and thousands of workers were expelled.

Notelist

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  1. ^ 二七大罷工, Èr-Qī Dàbàgōng, "Erqi Strike"
  2. ^ 京汉铁路工人大罢工

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Compilation Committee of the Factory Chronicle of Jiang'an Vehicle Factory in Wuhan (1993). The Factory Chronicle of Jiang'an Vehicle Factory in Wuhan.