Huge protests involving workers from approximately twenty different factories in the industrial city of Liaoyang have been quieted by pressure from the Chinese Government. The protests were triggered by the widespread corruption and massive layoffs experienced under the transition to capitalism (see WIT’s for Jan 21, 2002 and March 19, 2002), and involved tens of thousands of workers. The weeklong protests were quashed by what has become a common carrot and stick strategy of arresting strike leaders and placating the remaining workers with a combination of partial paybacks and promises of future assistance.
See "With Carrots and Sticks, China Quiets Protesters", JOHN POMFRET, The Washington Post, March 21, 2002