JennyChan.PhDThesis.2014.FINAL

China, in its opening to foreign capital and international trade since the early 1980s,
well exemplifies all these processes — and in an extreme form, where hundreds of
millions of workers are being drawn into global production chains. Is it simply a
matter of time before worker protests coalesce into larger and more sustained
movements, inviting comparison with the great labor protests that erupted
throughout China in the early 20 th century?
At the same time as producing more than 50 percent of the world’s electronics,
Foxconn’s workers are simultaneously creating a new working class with potential to
shape Chinese labor politics. In the following chapters, I show that some aggrieved
workers have taken aim at reputation-conscious companies to defend their rights and
interests. The question remains whether, and under what conditions, workers can
effectively challenge the combination of corporate and state power to raise labor and
social standards.
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