Dangers of keeping workers in the dark

As workers passed through the gates of the Tonghua Iron and Steel Group yesterday, there was little evidence of the violence that erupted 13 days ago, leading to the death of an executive.

It seemed a vision of normality, but the true scars of the shocking events of July 24, when around 1,000 people launched a 10-hour riot after being told of possible mass layoffs, run deep in this industrial city.

Chen Guojun, 40, vice president of the privately owned Jianlong Heavy Machinery Group in Beijing, had gone to Tonghua in Northeast China's Jilin province to inform staff at the city's largest employer about an agreed takeover deal.