The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-04-29
M. JAMES

together with the workers all over
the world, will demonstrate against
hunger and imperialist war, for the
defense of the Chinese masses and
the Soviet Union.
May Day in China has been CLOSE
" connected up with the Chinese
Revolutionary movement. Mainly
due to the colonization of China ny
imperialist powers, the Chinese work
ers we're kept back from struggle
aItho they were super-eXploited by
the imperialists, the native capital
lists and the militarists. However,
after the World War, especially after
the success of the october revolu-.
ton in Russia, the Chinese workers
and the toiling masses began to as
sumo the form Of mass organization
and struggle. May Day has since
then been observed with militancy
BY the Chinese masses.
T'he First May Day demonstration
took place in 1919 in Shanghai. 1t
was q feeble beginning. Several
hundred people. most of them stu
dents, participated. But the demon
stration served as IAN eye-opener
for the masses as to the historical
significance of May.
In 1920, the Communist Party OF
China was organized. Under the
leadership OF the Communist Party,
the Chinese workers staged bigger
demonstrations in Shanghai and
many other cities. The Chinese
workers understood more clearly
their role In the struggle against
capitalism and imperialism. In 1921,
the May Day demonstration in
China, besides raising slogans of the
eight hour day, better working and
living conditions, also put forth some
political slogans as, the freedom of
assembly, freedom of speech, etc.
The Chinese workers reached the
understanding that their economic
struggle is closely bound up with
their political struggle. In 1922 on
May First, the Chinese Congress of
Trade Unions took place in Canton
with about ITO delegates. The Con-
gress, among many important de-
cisions and resolutions, advocated
the eight hour day categorically put
on its record that May Day be cele-
brated by the Chinese workers as the
International Labor Day.
In 1928, there took place the big
strske Of the Picking Hankow work
ers, Wa Pei-fu, then the warlord
controlling the Peking- Hankow area,
masaacred nearly on HUNDRED strik-
ers in cold blood. However, even
under the extreme white terror of
the northern mihtarists, the Rail-
way Workers Union in Peking rail-
lied the workers in Picking and else
where TO demonstrate on May Day
Some of the demands put forth in
the demonstration we're: eight hour
day, the reorganization of the Union.
unconditional release of the arrested
strikers, the realization of the de-
mands in the strike, and the aboli-
tons of the martial law and all
restrictions on the freedom of the
workers In the same year, the work
erS in Canton and Shanghai, also
held big demonstrations. In 1924
there witnessed the rising rising re-
volutionary struggle of the Chinese
masses against imperialist domina-
ton. On May Day, over seventy
thousand workers and toilers de-
monstrated in Canton. A Congress
of the Chinese trade unions also
took place with delegates from over
one hundred and sixty trade unions.
Another significant thing happened
on May Day that year was the con-
vertion OF the Chinese peasants in
Canton with over 100 thousand
workers and peasants present. This
showed the close alliance between
the Chinese workers and peasants
undr the leadership of the workers
During the great Chinese revolu-
tioI in 1925-27, high wave of strike
struggles sweeping over Shanghai
Canton, Hongkong and all over the
country against imperialist exploit
alton and murder. The peasants
also revolted against the landlords