From September 18 to 22, Chinese construction workers on the MMP RKEF nickel smelting contract project in Balikpapan, Indonesia, managed by China Minmetals 19th Metallurgical Construction Company, staged consecutive strikes to protest wage arrears by Sichuan Yinsong Labour Company. According to the workers, Yinsong had previously caused its workers to return to China in June due to unpaid wages, with each of those workers ultimately shortchanged by 8,000 yuan.
On September 23, workers from Wuhan Gaosen Garment Factory in Hubei blocked Hanyang Avenue to protest the local government’s forced demolition of the factory buildings before paying them compensation.
On the evening of September 22, hundreds of senior students at Zhixin High School’s Tianhe campus in Guangzhou, Guangdong, staged a collective class boycott. They chanted slogans in the corridors to protest the school’s demand that 12th graders continue attending classes during Typhoon “Koinu” (“Huajiasa”)’s landfall. Their protest ultimately forced the school to declare a holiday. (Submission)
On September 22, in Shangchong Village, Haizhu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, a woman sat on the tracks of an excavator in an attempt to stop a demolition team from tearing down the supermarket she operated. Reportedly, the supermarket still had time remaining on a ten-year lease, and no compensation had been provided before the demolition. The neighboring shop, which its owner had taken over just a month earlier for 100,000 yuan, now also faces demolition.
“Over 100 Sanitation Workers Dismissed in Youyang, Chongqing for Refusing Pay Cuts (Sept. 17–22, 2025)”
Sanitation workers in Youyang, Chongqing went on strike from September 17 to 22 after being required to sign labor dispatch contracts with a new outsourcing company, which reduced their wages from 2,600 yuan to 1,800 yuan. The strike left garbage piled up across the entire county seat. Reportedly, Youyang has more than 400 sanitation workers in total, and over 100 have already been dismissed for refusing to accept the pay cut. The dismissed workers will receive compensation based on the “N+1” standard.
On September 22, hundreds of workers at Sichuan Neijiang Longchang Runfeng Garment Co., Ltd. went on strike to protest the company’s wage arrears and failure to pay social insurance contributions.
On September 22, dozens of construction workers demanding unpaid wages blocked the entrance of the Guangzhou Fortune Center in Guangdong and briefly clashed with police.
On September 19, dozens of construction workers from the Jiangxi Nanchang Jiaotou Tianjiangyuan project blocked the entrance of the Nanchang Jiaotou Group to demand their wages.
On September 16, in Hunyuan County, Datong, Shanxi, depositors put up multiple banners on the doors and windows of the Hunyuan Rural Mutual Aid Fund Cooperative reading: ‘People’s Government, return our deposits.’
According to depositors, the Hunyuan Yong’an Town Hengyuanxin Rural Mutual Aid Fund Cooperative, established in 2011, had attracted a large amount of local savings and investments by promising annual interest rates of 2.15%–3.85%. For a time, it was regarded as a reliable financial channel and enjoyed a good reputation locally.
However, since late February 2024, the cooperative gradually became unable to pay out deposits. By March 27, when the Hunyuan County government announced its suspension and rectification, a total of 3,605 people were unable to withdraw funds amounting to 515 million yuan. Most of the victims were elderly.
Although the local government repeatedly promised to “make every effort to recover the funds,” no substantive progress has been made to date. Depositors have staged multiple rights defense actions, but with little effect.
Depositors pointed out that the Hunyuan Rural Mutual Aid Fund Cooperative had been approved for preparation by the Shanxi Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau and was established with the consent of the Datong Municipal Banking and Insurance Regulatory Sub-bureau. As a mutual financial institution, it was supposed to be under the supervision of the local banking and insurance regulators. They argue that it was precisely due to regulatory negligence and government inaction that they suffered such heavy losses.”
“Israel May Expel 100,000 Chinese Workers (Sept 19, 2025)”
On September 19, a Chinese construction worker in Tel Aviv, Israel, posted a video saying that multiple construction sites in the city had been blocked by police that day, preventing workers from entering. He also revealed that the Israeli government plans to expel all Chinese workers by the end of 2025.
Another Chinese worker in Israel confirmed that the country has already halted approvals for manpower and construction personnel.
On September 15, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly stated: “China and Qatar are plotting to besiege Israel.” It remains unclear whether the rumor of expelling all Chinese workers is related to this statement.
It is reported that about 100,000 Chinese nationals are currently employed in Israel’s construction sector. Most of them had paid exorbitant fees to labor brokers, and if expelled, they could suffer devastating financial losses.
