The plant never reopened and workers watched as valuable equipment was sold off, sometimes covertly and illegally by managers.
The laid-off workers received living allowances or pensions only sporadically and medical reimbursement stopped, leading to deaths and disabilities that perhaps could have been prevented.
In 1999 the city had the mill declared bankrupt and sold it to an enterprise that is also mainly owned by the same city government, but in addition sells shares on the stock exchange.
The new owner, the Bao Shuo Corp, put a new plastic piping plant on part of the land, and sold another large part to a commercial developer in return for US$10 million and a share of the new development.
Under the terms of the bankruptcy sale, Bao Shuo was supposed to meet past and future financial obligations to former employees and help them find new jobs. Only after years of bitter agitation, the workers say, did they receive a good share of the past money owed.
Now the company, which appears to be having financial problems of its own, has refused to pay living allowances and pensions.
"The bankruptcy was bogus," said a retired official of the mill. "All they wanted to do was to strip the mill of its land and assets. Under the very eyes of China's capital, our workers are living a subhuman existence."
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