regained some of the losses of hours, wages, and conditions which had been lost in the period of reaction. This period had been made use of by the workers to assimilate the lessons of past experiences. There occurred during this period a great change among the leaders of the Kuomintang, who finally had come to realize the vastly important role of the working class in the Chinese nation revolution. The masses themselves had achieved political consciousness and learned the necessity of strong trade unions. International relations had been established during the struggle, when the Russian and Japanese trade unions sent telegrams of solidarity, and the Chinese trade unions had addressed themselves to the trade union movement of the world.
On May 1, 1925, the Second All-China Labor Congress was held at Canton, in an atmosphere of a rising movement. More than 600,000 members were represented. At this Congress the All-China Labor Federation was definitely formed; theory, tactics, and organizational methods firmly established, and a recognized central leadership set up.
Quickly thereafter followed the massacre of May 30th at Shanghai, and the Shakee massacre at Canton on June 23rd, by the British imperialists. These occurrances were the signal for a national upheaval. Strikes broke out everywhere. The most notable of these was the glorious strike of the Hongkong and Canton workers against the British, and their blockade of Hongkong for 17 months (which wiped out Hongkong trade and caused the British a loss of over 500 million dollars). In Shanghai more than 300,000 workers came into the trade unions. Great movements sprang up at Dairen, Tientsin, Tsingtao, Nanking, Kiukiang, Hankow, Changsha. Living and working conditions were everywhere improved. In Shanghai a general wage increase of 15% was secured. Not only the industrial workers, but also the artisans throughout China flocked into the movement.
The Third All-China Labor Congress was held on May 1, 1926, in Canton. Already there were 1,200,000 members. Concrete resolutions were adopted on all prob-
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