Independent reports out of China revealed a Chinese factory workers upset by unpaid wages decided to set fire to a textile plant in Sichuan last week.
The fire reportedly raged out of control for some 37 hours, causing millions of dollars in damage to the factory. The angry man’s unpaid wages added up to 800 yuan, which is about $111 in U.S. currency.
China has seen unusually large and persistent demonstrations by angry workers since President Donald Trump’s tariffs began cutting into the vast export income of the Communist tyranny in April. A new wave of protests broke out in mid-May, drawing in teachers and construction workers in addition to factory employees, some of whom have not been paid since 2023.
Radio Free Asia (RFA) cited social media posts that identified the arsonist as a 27-year-old man with the surname “Wen.” He allegedly had a “heated exchange with his employers” at the Sichuan Jinyu Textile Company over his back wages on Tuesday. At some point after this dispute, he returned to set the building on fire – and, according to some reports, attacked a factory manager with a knife.
The Hong Kong-based China Labor Bulletin (CLB) translated a local police notice that said Wen had “psychological problems” and acted out of “personal despair,” rather than fury over his unpaid wages. The police later amended their statement to admit Wen was harboring “thoughts of revenge” when he took violent action against the factory, but still strove to depict him as an impoverished and unstable loner.
The police also disputed reports that the sum of Wen’s unpaid wages was only 800 yuan, instead quoting a higher figure of 5,370 yuan (about $745).
Social media users pointed out this was something of a technicality, as Wen quit his job in April when the company owed him 800 yuan, but the final amount with his severance benefits would add up to the higher figure. The authorities seem eager to debunk the 800 yuan figure because Wen has been lionized as “Brother 800” on social media.
Local officials seemed eager to protect the reputation of the Sichuan Jinyu Textile Company, perhaps mindful of growing public anger over unpaid wages. Police initially denied wage arrears were an issue in the crime at all and they seemed uninterested in pursuing the company for violating national labor laws when they refused to give Wen a “lump sum” payout of his wages when his employment was terminated.
RFA found Chinese social media brimming with sympathy for Wen, and boiling with anger at both the abusive company and derelict local officials.
“I read online that Wen’s family is poor and in a dire situation, and that his mother is ill and they are in urgent need of money,” said a social media commentator named Wang Shudong.
“When those who were owed wages sought legal help, the judges disappeared, and the labor department staff also disappeared. But when Wen set fire to the factory, the police came and so did the officials from the legal system,” Wang said.
“Chinese society is heading towards an unpredictable future, and the relationship between people is becoming increasingly tense under the pressure of economic downturn,” scholar Tang Gang told RFA.
CLB noted public anger at trade unions, which were silent during the 20 days between Wen’s resignation and his fiery confrontation with factory managers. Chinese employees are increasingly convinced the labor unions are controlled by corporations and the government – which are often one and the same in China – rather than prioritizing the needs of their working-class members.
“The fallout has been severe. Wen now faces prosecution. The factory suffered major losses. Thousands of workers have lost their jobs. And the unions that should have intervened stayed silent. No one won,” CLB mournfully concluded.
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