China: Riot Police and Strikers Clash in Suzhou

In mainland China’s Suzhou City thousands of workers held a strike that escalated into a riot on Friday.

Employees of the factory—owned by Taiwan-based Wintek Corporation—were protesting poor working conditions, like exposure to toxic chemicals, which caused several deaths. The company makes touch screens for Apple as well as other liquid crystal displays.

A former employee, Mr. Song, told the Epoch Times they are expected to work about 10 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week using toxic materials without proper protection.

Local officials said the employees protested because of unpaid wages.

Company leaders threatened not pay the workers any bonuses if they continued to protest. When the workers responded with more anger, about 300 riot police arrived dispersing the crowd and beating people.

Several police and protesters were injured and taken to hospitals.

The crowd dispersed around noon, and the company closed for the afternoon.

(NTDTV)