February 7 strike

Zhengzhou, a city brought by locomotives, has gradually become an important transportation hub since the Beijing-Hankow Railway and Longhai Railway were opened to traffic at the beginning of the last century. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China when the government was corrupt and the country was impoverished, these two important transportation lifelines were always in the hands of capitalists from Belgium, France and other countries. However, the railway working class was double-oppressed by foreign capitalists and feudal warlords, working as cattle and horses. , was oppressed and struggled hard. They are looking forward to the light and the arrival of the savior.

Surge

Since its birth, the Communist Party of China has paid special attention to publicizing its ideas among workers, educating and uniting workers to carry out revolutionary struggle and develop in the struggle. Strengthen yourself. The Beijing-Hankong and Longhai Railways naturally became the focus of the Communist Party's activities. In October 1920, as soon as the Beijing Communist Group was established, the workers' movement was launched in Changxindian on Jinghan Road. In the spring of the following year, Zhao Zijian, a member of the Communist Group, came to Zhengzhou and served as a teacher at the Zhengzhou Railway Workers School, spreading new ideas among workers, mobilizing and organizing workers. Soon, Li Dazhao, one of the founders of the party, also came to Zhengzhou to lecture the workers on revolutionary principles and the power of working class unity. In August 1921, the Zhengzhou Railway Workers Club was established. In November 1921, Longhai Railway workers launched an all-road strike to oppose the oppression and exploitation of capitalists. With the leadership of the Communist Party and the strong support of workers on the Beijing-Hankow Railway and other places, the strike finally achieved a complete victory. Victory, and the birth of the first party organization in Henan - the Luoyang Party Group of the Communist Party of China.

In 1922, the Henan workers’ movement developed in breadth and depth. As a transportation hub, Zhengzhou has become one of the centers of the national workers’ movement. This year, workers at the Zhengzhou Locomotive Maintenance Office of the Beijing-Hankow Railway went on strike because Chen Fuhai, the director of the locomotive maintenance factory, "arbitrarily deprived workers of their freedom and treated them like cattle and horses." They issued a manifesto listing Chen Fuhai's 16 charges, and proposed improving the qualifications and status of workers, and The five conditions including salary were supported by workers in Jiang'an, Changxindian and other places.

The practice of struggle has educated workers and made them further realize that organization is the power to defeat the enemy. On April 9, representatives from various labor unions on the Beijing-Hankow Railway held a preparatory meeting in Changxindian to initiate the establishment of the All-Railway Federation of Trade Unions. Jiang'an representative Yang Defu was elected as the preparatory director. On August 10, the second preparatory meeting of the Beijing-Hankow Railway Federation of Trade Unions was held in Zhengzhou, with 14 people attending the meeting. Participants from various stations in Henan included Dai Qingping from Zhangde, Wu Changyi from the north bank of the Yellow River, Han Songting from the south bank of the Yellow River, Liu Shengyou from Xuzhou (now Xuchang), Lingchu Fan, Gao Bin and Liu Genghe from Zhengzhou, Yang Zhiqing from Yancheng, and Xinyang. Wang Fusheng et al. At the meeting, representatives reported on the organizational situation of trade unions in various places and drafted the "Beijing-Hankou Railway Federation of Trade Unions Charter." The meeting is scheduled to establish the Federation of Trade Unions in Zhengzhou before September 20, elect Ling Chufan as the interim chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions, and begin to rectify trade union organizations across the country.

In order to support the strike struggle of Changxindian workers against foreman oppression and for workers’ rights, Zhengzhou Jinghan Road workers, under the leadership of the party organization, held an alliance strike on August 25th and 26th. "At 7 a.m. on the 26th, the work situation in Zhengzhou was completely terminated, and all vehicles were stopped. The strike declaration has been distributed throughout the city." At the same time, Xuzhou, Yancheng, Xinyang and other places also responded actively. Longhai Railway workers issued a statement supporting the strike of Changxindian workers on Jinghan Road. "If the workers' demands are not responded to within three days," Longhai Railway will unanimously support the strike with a strike. After the victory of the Changxindian strike, Zhengzhou railway workers held a grand celebration, "setting off more than 10,000 firecrackers", and demonstrating and posting slogans, so that the broad masses of the people "all expressed their admiration for the working class. Some cheered, some applauded, "The streets are empty of people", which shows the power of working class unity and has won the support of people from all walks of life and lower-level soldiers.

The victory of the Changxindian strike had a great impact on Zhangde, Xinxiang and other places. In less than 10 days, the Zhangde Railway Workers Club grew from 72 members to more than 1,000 members, and changed from a club to a trade union. Daoqing Road held its first workers' club preparatory meeting on the evening of September 11. On the 14th, the workers' club was officially established.

Xinxiang Station independently established a trade union (formerly Zhangde Trade Union) on December 4, with more than 200 members. The Xinyang Workers' Club was reorganized in accordance with the new constitution of the Federation of Trade Unions, and trade unions in the south bank of the Yellow River, Xuzhou, Yancheng and other places also developed. Li Dazhao wrote in the article "Trends of the Chinese Workers' Movement": In early 1922, "the trade unions on the Beijing-Hankong Line are generally divided into the southern section and the northern section. The trade union organizations here are relatively developed and the labor movement has achieved considerable results."

By the end of 1922, the main towns on the Beijing-Hankou and Longhai Railways in Henan had basically established grassroots party organizations or had party members working.

Rise up to fight

On January 5, 1923, the third preparatory meeting of the Beijing-Hankow Railway Federation of Trade Unions was held in Zhengzhou. The meeting believed that the conditions for establishing the Federation of Trade Unions were mature and decided to hold an inaugural meeting in Zhengzhou on February 1. At the end of January, hundreds of representatives from various places arrived in Zhengzhou. Just as the meeting was about to begin, on January 28, Zhengzhou Police Chief Huang Dianchen led many policemen to the Preparatory Office of the Federation of Trade Unions to announce Wu Peifu's telegram prohibiting railway workers from holding a meeting in Zhengzhou on February 1. The next day, Wu Peifu sent a telegram from Luoyang to Zhengzhou garrison division commander Jin Yun'e to monitor the activities of the railway union and not allow workers to hold rallies. At this time, Wu Peifu had already taken control of the political power in Beijing, and his power expanded to most parts of northern China, and he began to unify China by force. The income from the Beijing-Hankou Road is one of the important sources of Wu Peifu's military expenditure. The struggle of the workers in Beijing-Hankou directly threatens his interests; the Beijing-Hankong Railway is also the artery for imperialist countries to carry out economic plunder on China. The rise of the workers' movement on the Jing-Hankou Road has It would inevitably affect their economic and political interests, so they manipulated the warlord representative Wu Peifu to start attacking the workers.

In the face of the warlord's suppression, the Communists who led the Jinghan Road workers' movement and workers' representatives from various places did not shrink back. On January 30, Communist Party members Li Zhenying, Shi Wenbin, Li Huanzhang and worker representatives Ling Chufan and Yang Defu went to Luoyang to meet Wu Peifu on behalf of all workers and proposed: According to the agreement and Wu Peifu’s political opinions in 1921, the Jinghan Road Federation of Trade Unions convened The founding conference is legal and should not be prohibited but should be protected. However, Wu Peifu still insisted on opposing the convening of the conference and threatened with force. After the representatives returned to Zhengzhou and told all the workers' representatives about Wu's attitude, the workers were extremely angry and unanimously agreed to break through all resistance and convene the meeting on time. In the early morning of February 1, more than 430 representatives from various station areas of the Beijing-Hankow Railway and brother railways and more than 1,000 Zhengzhou railway workers marched towards the venue carrying plaques donated by various places. Along the way, the military and police were armed with live ammunition and set up checkpoints one after another in an attempt to prevent the convening of the conference. After several hours of stalemate between the two sides, the workers' representatives finally broke through the obstruction of the reactionary military and police and entered the Puyuan venue, regardless of the enemy's threats of bayonets and sticks. Li Zhenying, secretary of the founding meeting of the Beijing-Hankow Railway Federation of Trade Unions, stepped onto the podium and loudly announced the establishment of the Beijing-Hankow Railway Federation of Trade Unions. At this time, the military and police had surrounded the venue. The delegates were quickly dispersed and the plaques presented by trade unions from various places were destroyed. Hotels, restaurants, and the offices of the Federation of Trade Unions were all occupied by military police. They forced workers to leave Zhengzhou, and the safety of worker representatives was seriously threatened.

Jinghan Road is a place where the party’s strength is relatively strong and the workers’ movement is well developed. After the conflict with the warlords at the founding meeting, the party's main leaders on Jinghan Road promptly convened a meeting and decided to move the temporary office of the Federation of Trade Unions to the bank of the Hankou River. Under the leadership of the Jinghan Railway Federation, the All-Road General Alliance went on strike to protest. Wu Peifu's suppression. Li Zhenying, Yang Defu and other major leaders commanded the overall situation in Jiang'an; Gao Bin, Jiang Haishi, and Liu Wensong were in Zhengzhou; Wu Ruming, Shi Wenbin, and Hong Yinfu were in Changxindian; and Lin Xiangqian, Luo Haicheng, and Zeng Yuliang were in Jiang'an to implement the orders of the Federation of Trade Unions. The people in charge of Xinyang are Hu Chuandao, chairman of the branch trade union, and Xu Kuan, the vice chairman and a member of the Communist Party of China. The person in charge of Xinxiang is Du Shiqing, the chairman of the branch trade union. The person in charge of Zhangde is Dai Qingping, the chairman of the branch trade union and a member of the Communist Party of China. On February 4, with an order from the Federation of Trade Unions, a general strike began across the entire road, turning Jinghan Road into a long, dead snake.

The Federation of Trade Unions issued a declaration and put forward five conditions: (1) Requesting the Ministry of Transportation to remove the director of Jinghan Road, Zhao Jixian, and the section chief of the southern section; requesting Wu, Jin (Yun E) and the Henan Provincial authorities to remove and investigate Huang Dianchen. (2) Request the Railway Bureau to compensate the loss of 6,000 yuan for the founding meeting. (3) Request the local governor of Zhengzhou to return all plaques, gifts and military music that were detained by the military and police that day to the Zhengzhou Federation of Trade Unions. All troops occupying the Zhengzhou branch immediately retreated. The Zhengzhou branch's plaque was re-hanged, and all losses incurred during the meeting were billed and paid for by the Zhengzhou branch, and the Zhengzhou local governor apologized to the Federation of Trade Unions. (4) Require Sundays to be rested and wages to be paid accordingly. (5) Require one week off in the lunar year and pay wages accordingly.

Under the leadership of the party organization and the Federation of Trade Unions, the strike was carried out in an orderly manner. The striking workers distributed leaflets to tourists, explaining that workers' rights to freedom had been violated and that they had to strike as a last resort, gaining the sympathy and support of tourists; they also exposed the crimes of reactionary warlords such as Wu Peifu to all walks of life across the country. The internal organization of the workers is also very neat and tight, "because all the workers on the road, from drivers to firemen to small workers, are all members of the trade union. Each member takes orders from each branch, and each branch takes orders from the Federation of Trade Unions. Order is maintained. Order is maintained. , there are picket teams that are well-trained by all the branches; to spy on the news, there are investigation teams temporarily organized by each branch during the strike." After the strike broke out, Wu Peifu, Xiao Yaonan, Cao Kun, and Zhao Jixian. Under the instruction of British imperialism, other reactionary warlords traveled to and from e-commerce, plotting and brutally suppressing striking workers. On the 4th, the enemy used high-pressure measures to force work to resume. On the 5th, Zhengzhou Railway Union Chairman Gao Bin, Jiang Haishi, Liu Wensong, Wang Zongpei, Qian Nenggui and others were arrested in Zhengzhou. They were subjected to both hard and soft tactics, threats, inducements and even torture to force them to resume work. They always insist that "you cannot drive unless ordered by the Federation of Trade Unions." Gao Bin was tortured and died soon after. Hu Chuandao, a member of the Xinyang Branch Trade Union, faced the brutal persecution of the enemy and remained unyielding and refused to return to work. On the 7th, Wu Peifu carried out a large-scale suppression of striking workers on the Beijing-Hankou Road, creating the February 7th tragedy that shocked China and foreign countries. In Henan and Zhengzhou, six people were arrested, one was tortured to death, and more than 300 people were expelled. Some were killed in Zhangde, Xinyang, Xinxiang and other places. A large number of workers were persecuted, and the Zhengzhou party organization was also destroyed. Party leaders who led the labor movement in Henan, including Li Zhenying, Zhao Zijian, Xu Kuan, Yao Zuotang, Dai Qingping, and Xie Changchun, were forced to leave. Workers were deprived of all the rights they had won in the struggle, and all trade unions were closed.

Succession

The Communist Party of China is still in its infancy, but it was not intimidated by the enemy's massacre and continued to lead the people in fighting. After the tragedy, the Communist Party of China immediately issued a "Letter to the Working Class and the People for Wu Peifu's Massacre of the Jinghan Road Worker". The Secretariat of the China Labor Federation issued a "Letter to Workers Nationwide" and a "Letter to the People" to expose Wu Peifu. The reactionary side of the group called on workers and people across the country to unite and overthrow the warlords. The National Railway Trade Union Preparatory Committee and the Youth League Central Committee also issued a message and declaration condemning Wu Peifu's crimes. Workers on Zhengtai Road and other roads not only supported the Jinghan Road workers during the strike, but also raised funds to help the families of the deceased workers and unemployed workers after the strike failed. In order to aid the struggle for the Beijing-Hankow Railway, workers at Zhengzhou Yufeng Cotton Mill also established a party group and trade union organization headed by Li Wenfu, which led the workers to fight against the capitalists, demanding increased wages, improved working conditions, solidarity and material support for Beijing. The workers’ struggle on Han Road. On February 4, in order to support the Jinghan Road workers, the Daoqing Road workers held a sympathy strike and proposed conditions such as a salary increase, the implementation of an eight-hour work system, and improved workers' benefits. Under the leadership of Communist Party member He Daopei and others, the strike was well organized. After the February 7th massacre, Daoqing Road workers still fearlessly supported the strike. On February 9, the Railway Bureau used the army to close down the trade union, arrested four people including trade union leader Wang Weijian, and forced the workers to resume work. But the workers persisted for nine days, effectively supporting the class brothers of the Beijing-Hankow Railway.

The Beijing-Hankou Railway strike fully demonstrated the most courageous fighting spirit and the greatest spirit of sacrifice of the Chinese working class.

With the heads and blood of workers, it further awakened the Chinese people and made the people more aware that the imperialist forces and feudal warlords were the sworn enemies of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups and must fight against them to the end. This strike expanded the influence of the Communist Party of China among the people across the country. The bloody facts of the strike also tell us that to overthrow the reactionary warlord rule, the lone struggle of the working class alone is not enough. The broad peasant class must be mobilized and all forces that can be united must be mobilized. This raised an important question for the Communist Party of China: how to unite the Kuomintang led by Sun Yat-sen to oppose the warlords; how to carry out the peasant movement and form an alliance of workers and peasants. In the strike struggle, faced with armed warlords, unarmed workers could only be brutally massacred, which raised the issue of armed struggle for our party. Although the strike failed, the Communists were not depressed, but were accumulating more strength and preparing for a greater struggle.