Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation

BWAF
Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation
北京工人自治联合会
Founded	April 20, 1989
Dissolved	June 8, 1989
Location	People's Republic of China;
Members	3,000 – 20,000
Key people	Han Dongfang

The Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation (BWAF), or Beijing Workers’ Autonomous Union (Chinese: 北京工人自治联合会; pinyin: Běijīng gōngrén zìzhì liánhéhuì; popularly referred to in Chinese as gōngzìlián, lit. 'workers' federation') was the primary Chinese workers' organization calling for political change during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The group was formed in the wake of mourning activities for former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Hu Yaobang in April 1989. The BWAF denounced political corruption, presenting itself as an independent union capable of "supervising the Communist Party," unlike the Party-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).^[1]

Unlike typical labor unions, the BWAF did not establish branches in individual factories and workplaces. Nevertheless, its influence and activities expanded during its resistance to the imposition of martial law in May. The Federation itself was one of the casualties of the People's Liberation Army's violent suppression of protesters during the evening of June 3. After the military crackdown, Party authorities labeled the BWAF an "illegal organization" and arrested its leaders.^[2]

^ Ogden, Suzanne, Kathleen Hartford, and Lawrence Sullivan, eds. China’s Search for Democracy: The Student and the Mass Movement of 1989. M.E. Sharpe, 1992. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-87332-724-4.
^ Han Minzhu, ed., Cries for Democracy: Writing and Speeches from the 1989 Chinese Democracy Movement. Princeton University Press, 1990. p. 373. ISBN 978-0-691-00857-8.

[1] Ogden, Suzanne, Kathleen Hartford, and Lawrence Sullivan, eds. China’s Search for Democracy: The Student and the Mass Movement of 1989. M.E. Sharpe, 1992. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-87332-724-4.

[han373-2] Han Minzhu, ed., Cries for Democracy: Writing and Speeches from the 1989 Chinese Democracy Movement. Princeton University Press, 1990. p. 373. ISBN 978-0-691-00857-8.

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