Workers in China traded health for development

At the beginning of the XXI century, Wang Zhaohong worked for four years on the demolition of buildings in Shenzhen, creating the conditions for what was once a border town to become a bustling metropolis.

Today, the emaciated 50-year-old, who is bedridden and struggling for breath, says the job he was doing will eventually kill him.

Without adequate protective equipment, he and his colleagues from a remote county in Hunan province inhaled so much dust from construction sites during Shenzhen's development boom that they contracted silicosis, a disease that destroys the lungs, Reuters reports.

Wang's condition is acute... He expects to suffocate by Chinese New Year.

This month, China will celebrate 40 years since the start of "reform and opening up," the economic policies that have transformed it into the world's second largest economy.

Although hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty, Wang and others who have suffered a similar fate are a reminder of the high human cost of China's development, as authorities try to censor information and stifle protests.

About six million Chinese have either contracted or died from pneumoconiosis, lung damage caused by dust, which also includes silicosis, according to estimates by the Beijing-based NGO Love Save Pneumoconiosis, which fights to protect workers suffering from this disease.

Thousands of migrant workers from three counties in Hunan province, including Wang, are protesting to demand compensation from Shenzhen.

"We used to wear the same mask for 10 days and only then get new ones," Wang told Reuters in his village in the impoverished district of Shangzhi. "At that time, the employer used to say to us, 'If you put on new masks every day, how do you think I would ever earn anything?'"

These workers earned five to six thousand yuan (€650-770) a month, two or three times more than other hired migrants were paid at the time.

Almost none of them have signed a contract, which makes it almost impossible for them to seek adequate compensation. The Shenzhen government has offered to pay some workers up to 220.000 yuan (about 28.000 euros) depending on the severity of their health conditions, he told Reuters. Gu Fusiang, one of the workers' representatives. However, he says that is nowhere near enough.

After almost ten years of struggle, their prospects are unfavorable. The security forces attacked them when they were sitting in the Shenzhen Assembly for the last time, as a sign of protest, in early November, according to five workers who were among the crowd.

"The absolute priority of both the local authorities here and the government in Shenzhen is to maintain stability," said Gu, who suffers from a mild form of silicosis. "We traded lives for prosperity," he told Reuters. "The government doesn't care if we're sick or dying."

The health crisis is not unique to China; groups of fighters for the protection of workers' rights in the USA have been fighting for decades for compensation for diseases caused by the harmful effects of dust.

However, the number of casualties China's construction boom has created in just 40 years is unprecedented.

No city in history has grown faster than Shenzhen. In terms of economic results, it overtook neighboring Hong Kong for the first time last year.

By 2030, Shenzhen is expected to have the largest subway network in the world. According to China Daily newspaper, it will have 32 metro lines.

Migrant workers laid the foundations for many of Shenzhen's most famous sites – from the railway station in the northern part of the city, which connects Shenzhen to Hong Kong and Beijing, to the headquarters of the Ping An International Financial Center, the fourth tallest building in the world.

Despite the success of this megalopolis, workers mostly had to take loans from banks at high interest rates or borrow from relatives and friends to cover medical treatment, children's education and other expenses.

To pay for the treatment, Wang took out a loan of 50.000 yuan (about 6.500 euros) at a three-month interest rate of 11,27%.

"Banks still grant us loans because our children also sign them." My son agreed to pay off their debt after my death," he told Reuters.

The Shenzhen government paid Wang 130.000 yuan (about 16.500 euros) in 2009 when he was diagnosed, but he says that is not enough.

"The lack of money is not the problem in China. Shenzhen has a huge social security fund. The problem is ideology," he says Full Ngai, professor of sociology at the University of Hong Kong, who has been monitoring the position of workers for years.

"The Shenzhen government does not feel that it is responsible for these workers since they are not residents of Shenzhen," Pun says. "And she's worried that if she gives in to their demands, workers from other provinces will also come to seek compensation."

According to official data, the social security fund of Shenzhen, which has a population of 12,5 million, amounted to more than 2017 billion yuan (about 540 billion euros) at the end of 70.

The workers told Reuters that Beijing is pressuring them, threatening them and those close to them, so that they do not speak out about the problem.

In mid-November, the authorities banned all websites from publishing stories related to workers from Hunan suffering from silicosis, China's Central Times, which deals with censorship in China, reported.

Prominent state newspapers and TV stations reported on their position in 2009, but remained silent on this topic this year.

"The authorities really know how to scare us; many workers are too scared to have anything to do with foreign media now,” Gu said, adding that Shenzhen government officials have told him they are monitoring both his phone and WeChat communications.

However, Wang told Reuters that he was more concerned about the huge debt he was leaving his family with, constantly wondering if there was any point in telling this story at all.

"Our country has made really rapid progress in the last 40 years, farmers don't necessarily have to farm anymore, it's really wonderful," he said wistfully, breathing through tubes in his nose as X-rays of his damaged lungs hung on a small to the window overlooking the neighboring house.

"I wish I wasn't tied to the bed, then I could go out and look at everything that was done outside," he said. "Instead, I will die very soon..."

Silence in the ministries

A spokesperson for the Shenzhen government directed Reuters reporters to ask questions on this topic to the ministries of police, social welfare, health and economic reforms.

The Ministry of Health hung up on a call and a question for comment; The Ministry of Economic Reforms refused to comment; Representatives of the police and social welfare ministries did not respond to multiple calls from Reuters.

Part of general censorship

Censorship on the subject is in line with general political pressure on China over the past five years and comes amid a crackdown on worker and student protests that began in the south of the country and spread to the rest of China.

In August, about 50 students and other activists from various parts of the country came to Shenzhen to protest with workers over the poor conditions at a factory owned by Jasic, a giant of the metal industry.

"The issue of silicosis workers has become extremely sensitive this year because the government is concerned that it could be related to the Jessica case," Poon said.

The workers went to Shenzhen 11 times this year, but they say they are still waiting for adequate compensation. They are asking for compensation between 500.000 and 1.1 million yuan (about 65.000-150.000 euros), depending on the worker's health, Gu said.

Less than 12 hours after Reuters reporters arrived in Shanghai County, local police began calling the workers, ordering them to report to the police station and confirm who they met.

Shanghai police declined to comment on the allegations.