Chinese authorities have called for gig workers to be treated with kindness after videos of a delivery rider kneeling before a security guard led to protests by dozens of riders.
Guards stopped the rider from leaving a building in Hangzhou on Monday - saying he damaged railings while scaling them during a rushed delivery.
Worried that his subsequent deliveries would be delayed, the rider got on his knees and pleaded to be let go, the city’s police said in a statement.
The incident sparked outrage online, with many urging better protections for workers in the industry.
Why? Because they both happened in China?
The delivery driver was in desperation because they were going to lose money by being held up by the security guard. They weren’t protesting or demonstrating, just trying to do their job and literally could not afford to wait around. Probably because they are paid a pittance and are paid by the delivery instead of by hour worked. This is also a problem in North America and Europe. Delivery drivers are classified as independent contractors to avoid being given hourly wages and benefits. This incident was a symptom of poor regulation of the delivery industry.
I’m not sure how any of that relates to tank man aside from the fact that both incidents took place somewhere in China. I’m not saying critiquing the Chinese government isn’t worthwhile, but it comes off entirely fangless when you just throw out tank man in a completely unrelated situation. If our goal is better rights and living conditions for workers in China (and everywhere else), the least we can do is actually argue for those things. Criticizing the Chinese state for censoring information on the Tiannamen Square Protests has its place. Doing so here just detracts from the actual subject of the post.