In recent years, thousands of Chinese people have left the mainland and embarked on risky journeys to the United States. Many of them have carried too much grievance and pain that they could not escape from, ultimately choosing to leave their homeland. Zheng Tao from Shandong is one of them.
In November 2022, Zheng Tao took a detour through South America and arrived in Los Angeles. Prior to this, he had worked for over twenty years at a well-known enterprise group and its subsidiary in Shandong Province.
According to the official website of the group, the subsidiary had an annual revenue of over ten billion yuan. However, in Zheng Tao’s heart, it was a “sweatshop” that left him with not only incurable chronic occupational diseases but also psychological and spiritual torment.
Born in 1975, Zheng Tao entered the enterprise group in 1993 after graduating from junior high school. The group later merged into Shandong Luneng Group, transitioning from a collective enterprise to a state-owned enterprise and eventually to a privately-owned joint-stock company.
Zheng Tao’s workshop had a large paint tank where some equipment had to be soaked. “The working environment was extremely poor, and we had to work overtime endlessly,” Zheng Tao described. “When you enter the workshop, you can smell the strong toxic gases, making you want to cry, feeling nauseous.” Of course, not everyone felt it as strongly due to individual differences.
The workshop operated on a two-shift system, with one shift working continuously for 12 hours, sometimes even working overnight. Unable to endure the smell and with the factory not providing any protective gear, Zheng Tao had to make a makeshift gas mask to wear on his head. It looked odd but made him feel a bit better.
“I can’t remember if it was in 2011 or 2012, but that day at work, I felt short of breath, and since then, I would have occasional attacks,” Zheng Tao said. He went to a hospital for a check-up and was diagnosed with asthma.
“At that time, I was only in my mid-thirties, and I thought I couldn’t have this disease,” Zheng Tao pondered, wondering if it was related to the work environment. He applied to the company to undergo an occupational disease examination, only to face not just physical pain but also mental torture.
After applying for the occupational disease examination, Zheng Tao found out that he needed the unit’s signature to proceed with the examination. However, the company refused to sign. He explained, “I have work-related injury insurance, even if I am diagnosed with an occupational disease, the insurance would cover the expenses, so why won’t you let me have the examination?” To his bewilderment, the company remained adamant. Without undergoing the occupational disease examination, his work injury insurance wouldn’t cover his medical expenses, yet the company showed a “dead end” attitude.
Forced into a corner, Zheng Tao went to the Taian Health Bureau for appeals, which took a year of persistence, and the occupational disease diagnosis hospital finally agreed to examine him. One step in the process involved the hospital conducting a “provocation” experiment at the factory site, but the arrogant company refused entry to hospital staff. Another dead end.
The occupational disease diagnosis certificate Zheng Tao received in 2012 showed that before December 2009, the insulating paint and electrical latex paint used in his workshop contained three toxic substances – polyester resin fumes, methanol-amino resin, and potassium persulfate.
Although the hospital issued a hospitalization notice to Zheng Tao, he needed the company’s signature for admission. Once again, he faced a dead end. “The company did not allow me to seek medical treatment, so I had to pay for my treatment out of my own pocket until today without enjoying a day of work injury benefits.” To alleviate his suffering, he had to bear all the treatment costs himself.
Out of frustration, Zheng Tao made a banner that read “Restore my health, give back my hard-earned money” planning to protest in front of the company and its affiliated enterprise groups. However, as soon as he arrived at the company’s gates, the security guards snatched the banner away. In the ensuing argument, Zheng Tao broke a glass window, leading the police to take him away and force him to promise in writing not to cause trouble again, demanding him to pay for the glass.
Left with no choice, Zheng Tao wrote to the mayor and governor to complain, but the letters ended up back at the company – clearly indicating that the path to seeking justice remained a dead end.
Determined to seek legal recourse, Zheng Tao had to go through arbitration before filing a lawsuit, but he felt the arbitration commission favored the company, resulting in an unfair outcome for him. As the lawsuit proceeded, he was asked to provide evidence proving his employment at the company.
“I found it extremely challenging to gather evidence,” Zheng Tao remarked, saying that only proving his over twenty years of work in the enterprise group was quite an ordeal. During the lawsuit, the company terminated his labor contract on grounds of absenteeism, making his situation even more difficult while he was recovering from illness. According to the law, Zheng Tao said he had a level-six disability and should not have been dismissed. He sued again but did not receive court support.
From the lower court to the appellate court, Zheng Tao went through numerous rounds of appeals, spanning nearly two years. Eventually, his claim for 800,000 yuan based on the legal minimum standard was only partially supported by the court. The company paid him a portion, the work injury insurance paid a part, and he was sent on his way.
“I couldn’t take it anymore, both mentally and physically,” Zheng Tao said, feeling disheartened, giving up on pursuing further appeals. He said, “I believe the company’s actions are a microcosm of how the Chinese Communist Party treats the people: delay, deceive, intimidate.”
Zheng Tao remarked, “When you look at the company’s website, it seems pretty good, but it’s all a lie; unless you experience it firsthand, you won’t know the truth.” Later, he heard from former colleagues that after he was dismissed, the company, in a cunning move, started hiring temporary workers for the toxic workshop, changing them every year; even if workers suffered harm to their health, it was challenging for them to seek justice once they left the company.
“This kind of practice is despicable,” Zheng Tao said. “You make people work in a toxic environment for a year, causing harm to their bodies, then just get rid of them without any responsibility.”
How could a company treat its employees this way? Zheng Tao initially found it hard to comprehend. After “crossing the wall,” he understood more about similar cases and the dark side of the Chinese Communist Party.
“I slowly realized that what happened to me, the harm suffered by workers, farmers, and other groups, all stems from the Communist Party,” Zheng Tao further stated. “The actions of these companies are just like the Communist Party: they have ways to deal with the people. If you raise an issue, instead of solving it, they want to eliminate you.”
He recalled that although the group had transformed into a private enterprise, each subsidiary, including every workshop, had a Communist Party branch secretary.
“In China, there are no genuine private enterprises; companies of all sizes have party branches, serving as agents of the Communist Party, executing the party’s will,” he observed. “The company leadership collaborates with the Communist Party, making them its accomplices. Without exploiting workers, they cannot provide offerings to higher-level officials.”
“In that Chinese society, with the Communist Party in power, you have no freedom of speech and cannot advocate for your rights,” Zheng Tao realized the root cause of his ordeal. He said, “From that moment on, I was determined to leave this country.” ◇