In his first public statement since his detention in May 2017, Fu Tianbo, one of the leaders of the agency workers’ campaign for equal pay at FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun, has vowed to continue his fight for justice.

At least 21 workers were killed and another 29 injured on Saturday 23 February when a bus transporting them to a lead, zinc and silver mine in Inner Mongolia crashed. 

Seven maintenance workers died and another two were hospitalised after being trapped in a waste water tank at a paper mill in the southern city of Dongguan on the evening of 15 February. All nine workers were poisoned by toxic fumes whilst inside the tank, according to official reports.