Labor day rallies muted as SARS continues to threaten Asian jobs
Labor day rallies muted as SARS continues to threaten Asian jobs
Mark McCord Agence France-Presse Hong Kong, China
Hundreds of thousands of Asians took to the streets for May Day rallies on Thursday against a backdrop of deepening economic uncertainty caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus crisis.
Some demonstrations were canceled and businesses and politicians warned of more economic carnage as SARS continued to eat into the hearts, minds and wallets of the region.
More than 5,600 people worldwide have been infected by the virus, with 377 succumbing to it. But May Day's celebration of the world's workers drew attention away from the disease's death toll and to the region's economy.
In socialist China, where May Day is enshrined in the national psyche, celebrations were muted and demonstrations were banned as SARS continued to ravage the country.
The May Day holiday normally means a week-long vacation for China's workers. But this year the holiday has been reduced to five days to keep people at home and prevent them spreading SARS further.
Singapore, where 24 have died from the disease, provided a stark indication of that economic impact when Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the prosperous city-state's unemployment rate -- at 4.5 percent -- would not recover until 2004 due to SARS and the Iraq war.
Singapore Airlines, one of Asia's most profitable carriers, earlier asked 6,600 cabin crew to take unpaid leave to help it cope with the effects of SARS. Pilots will be asked the same.
In neighboring Malaysia, some 2,000 workers gathered at a rally in Kuala Lumpur were warned of imminent job losses.
"We are worried about workers being retrenched. The worst for SARS is not over," said Zainal Rampak, president of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC).
"This labor day celebration is especially a sad day, with some 10,000 people unemployed and another 60,000 given unpaid leave, because of the SARS crisis," Hong Kong's legislator Lee Cheuk-yan said.
In Indonesia, a march of thousands against President Megawati Soekarnoputri in Jakarta, was leant added force by a campaign to help 13 SARS-infected Indonesian workers in Hong Kong.
And the fear of spreading SARS among 10,000 workers who had planned to march through Taipei prompted Taiwan's Federation of Labor to cancel the demonstration.
Elsewhere in Asia, May Day protests concentrated on workers' rights. With unemployment hovering near a record high of 5.4 percent, 223,000 Japanese workers took to the streets demanding the government and businesses protect jobs.
The militant Filipino May One Movement joined supporters of deposed president Joseph Estrada in a march through Manila and in Bangkok, a rally near the Grand Palace was to be addressed by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
In Hanoi, Vietnamese enjoyed a second day off work after celebrations to mark the 28th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to communist North Vietnamese forces and the reunification of the country.
Separately, tens of thousands of people took part in nationwide May Day rallies in Russia on Thursday, but the authorities hijacked what was once a major day of protest for the Communist opposition.
The first marches were held in the Russian far east, with 40,000 people involved in demonstrations in the Pacific region of Primorye, with the biggest event in this major Pacific port city of Vladivostok.
In a throwback to Soviet-era organized rallies, governor Sergei Darkin led the march through the center of Vladivostok, which was attended by factory workers, railway employees, teachers, doctors and students.
And in the Russian capital Moscow, United Russia was also organizing a rally in the center to coincide with the traditional Communist May Day parade.