The First Upsurge of the Workers' Movement
Following its First National Congress, the CPC set up a Secretariat of the Chinese Labor Organization to lead the workers' movement. Under the CPC's leadership, the political awareness of the Chinese working class grew quickly, and there came a first upsurge of the workers' movement that began with a strike by seamen in Hong Kong in January 1922. The seamen went on strike after their demands for higher wages and more job opportunities were refused. More than 100,000 people joined the strike and persevered in their struggle for 56 days before winning a victory.
From January 1922 to February 1923, more than 100 strikes of all sizes were staged across the country, and more than 300,000 workers participated in these strikes. The general strike on the Beijing-Hankou Railway, which began on February 4, 1923, was the climax of the first upsurge of Chinese workers' movement.
The strike of the railway workers caused panic among imperialist sympathizers and reactionary warlords. On February 7, the warlord Wu Peifu (1874-1939) sent soldiers and police to butcher the strikers. This became known as the February 7th Massacre. Lin Xiangqian (1892-1923), a CPC member and chairman of the Jiang'an branch of the railway trade union, and Shi Yang (1889-1923), another Communist and a legal consultant of the workers, were among those killed.
The railway workers had fought for their freedom of assembly and association, under the slogan "fight for freedom and human rights." Their strike demonstrated the strength of the Chinese working class and expanded the influence of the CPC among the people. Though the strike failed in the end, the workers had awakened the Chinese nation with their blood and sacrifice, and helped the general public realize that imperialism and feudal warlords were the enemies of the Chinese people, against whom they must continue their struggle for true freedom and liberation.
中国工人运动第一次高潮
中国共产党成立后，建立中国劳动组合书记部，集中力量从事工人运动。在中国共产党的领导下，中国工人阶级的觉悟很快得到提高，工人运动开始出现蓬勃兴起的局面，以1922年1月香港海员罢工为起点，掀起中国工人运动的第一次高潮。罢工是由香港海员要求资方增加工资和扩大就业等合理要求被拒绝后开始的，参加罢工的工人达10多万人。经过56天的不懈斗争，香港海员大罢工最终取得胜利。
从1922年1月到1923年2月，全国共发生大小罢工100多次，参加罢工人数达30万以上。1923年2月4日爆发的京汉铁路工人大罢工，将中国工人运动第一次高潮推向顶点。罢工引起了帝国主义和反动军阀的恐慌。2月7日，军阀吴佩孚调动军警在京汉铁路沿线血腥镇压罢工工人，制造了震惊中外的二七惨案。京汉铁路总工会江岸分会委员长、共产党员林祥谦与湖北省工团联合会法律顾问、共产党员施洋等被杀害。
京汉铁路工人大罢工是为争取工人集会、结社的自由权利而爆发的，它鲜明地提出了“为自由而战，为人权而战”的政治口号，进一步显示了中国工人阶级的力量，扩大了中国共产党在全国人民中的影响。罢工虽然遭到失败，但工人的生命和鲜血进一步唤醒了中国人民，使他们更加清楚地认识到帝国主义和封建军阀是中国人民的敌人，必须与之斗争到底，才能获得真正的自由和解放。