Abstract
Based on a case study of a workers’ wildcat strike in a Taiwanese footwear factory in Guangdong, this study examines the protest mobilization and government response in the Chinese authoritarian regime. The findings indicate that the massive 10-day strike involved a series of mechanisms, including: (1) the unique ecology of the factory campus that nurtured close-knit worker networks; (2) workers’ spontaneous mobilization that lacked both central leadership and autonomous organizations; (3) advice and instruction from independent labor NGO activists; (4) appeals to citizenship rights and legalism; and (5) mobilization though emotions, ideological symbols, and rumors. The company and local government had different interests and incentives, and thus could not collude on curbing the strike. The local state, despite not being able to prevent a strike from happening, is able to contain a massive strike, relying on its police, official trade unions, and Party system. Nevertheless, collective action by disadvantaged groups pressured the local government’s implementation of laws and policies from above. Thus, mass protest played a crucial role in the dynamic political process, exemplifying the changing nature of state-society relations in China.