Labor day rallies muted as SARS continues to threaten Asian jobs<\/p>\n
Mark McCord
\nAgence France-Presse
\nHong Kong, China<\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands of Asians took to the streets for May Day
\nrallies on Thursday against a backdrop of deepening economic
\nuncertainty caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
\n(SARS) virus crisis.<\/p>\n
Some demonstrations were canceled and businesses and
\npoliticians warned of more economic carnage as SARS continued to
\neat into the hearts, minds and wallets of the region.<\/p>\n
More than 5,600 people worldwide have been infected by the
\nvirus, with 377 succumbing to it. But May Day's celebration of
\nthe world's workers drew attention away from the disease's death
\ntoll and to the region's economy.<\/p>\n
In socialist China, where May Day is enshrined in the national
\npsyche, celebrations were muted and demonstrations were banned as
\nSARS continued to ravage the country.<\/p>\n
The May Day holiday normally means a week-long vacation for
\nChina's workers. But this year the holiday has been reduced to
\nfive days to keep people at home and prevent them spreading SARS
\nfurther.<\/p>\n
Singapore, where 24 have died from the disease, provided a
\nstark indication of that economic impact when Prime Minister Goh
\nChok Tong said the prosperous city-state's unemployment rate --
\nat 4.5 percent -- would not recover until 2004 due to SARS and
\nthe Iraq war.<\/p>\n
Singapore Airlines, one of Asia's most profitable carriers,
\nearlier asked 6,600 cabin crew to take unpaid leave to help it
\ncope with the effects of SARS. Pilots will be asked the same.<\/p>\n
In neighboring Malaysia, some 2,000 workers gathered at a
\nrally in Kuala Lumpur were warned of imminent job losses.<\/p>\n
\"We are worried about workers being retrenched. The worst for
\nSARS is not over,\" said Zainal Rampak, president of the Malaysian
\nTrades Union Congress (MTUC).<\/p>\n
\"This labor day celebration is especially a sad day, with some
\n10,000 people unemployed and another 60,000 given unpaid leave,
\nbecause of the SARS crisis,\" Hong Kong's legislator Lee Cheuk-yan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, a march of thousands against President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri in Jakarta, was leant added force by a campaign to
\nhelp 13 SARS-infected Indonesian workers in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
And the fear of spreading SARS among 10,000 workers who had
\nplanned to march through Taipei prompted Taiwan's Federation of
\nLabor to cancel the demonstration.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Asia, May Day protests concentrated on workers'
\nrights. With unemployment hovering near a record high of 5.4
\npercent, 223,000 Japanese workers took to the streets demanding
\nthe government and businesses protect jobs.<\/p>\n
The militant Filipino May One Movement joined supporters of
\ndeposed president Joseph Estrada in a march through Manila and in
\nBangkok, a rally near the Grand Palace was to be addressed by
\nThai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.<\/p>\n
In Hanoi, Vietnamese enjoyed a second day off work after
\ncelebrations to mark the 28th anniversary of the fall of Saigon
\nto communist North Vietnamese forces and the reunification of the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Separately, tens of thousands of people took part in
\nnationwide May Day rallies in Russia on Thursday, but the
\nauthorities hijacked what was once a major day of protest for the
\nCommunist opposition.<\/p>\n
The first marches were held in the Russian far east, with
\n40,000 people involved in demonstrations in the Pacific region of
\nPrimorye, with the biggest event in this major Pacific port city
\nof Vladivostok.<\/p>\n
In a throwback to Soviet-era organized rallies, governor
\nSergei Darkin led the march through the center of Vladivostok,
\nwhich was attended by factory workers, railway employees,
\nteachers, doctors and students.<\/p>\n
And in the Russian capital Moscow, United Russia was also
\norganizing a rally in the center to coincide with the traditional
\nCommunist May Day parade.<\/p>",
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