It Could Happen Here: The History of the General Strike – Shanghai 1925, A Chinese Minneapolis

Host: Mia Wong
Podcast Network: Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts
Date: February 19, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode, hosted by Mia Wong, explores the dramatic and formative 1925 Shanghai general strike—known as the May 30 Movement. Against the backdrop of recent labor activism in Minneapolis and changing perceptions of general strikes in the US, Mia draws historical parallels between the 1925 Shanghai uprising and today’s labor struggles. The episode dives into the context, catalysts, dynamics, and consequences of the strike, examining how ordinary people rose against oppression, why the movement ultimately faded, and the vital lessons for organizing and resistance today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Stage: Why Shanghai 1925?

• Modern Resonance: The episode begins by connecting the current re-emergence of general strike talk in the US to “a strike that most of you have never heard of”: the 1925 general strike in Shanghai (03:12).
• Emotional Parallels: Mia emphasizes that while many may not know the facts, the emotional tenor—rage, grief, and resolve—strikes a chord with today’s protest movements:

  “Intellectually most of you have never heard of it. Emotionally, you already know everything about it.” (04:51, Mia Wong)

Historical Context: China in Turmoil

• The Warlord Period: Mia and a co-host explain how, after the 1911 Chinese Revolution, the country fragmented into warlord territories.
• Foreign Occupation: Major foreign powers like Japan, the UK, France, and Russia literally owned chunks of Shanghai—down to individual rail lines and neighborhoods policed and controlled by armed occupation forces (06:09–07:41).
• Daily Oppression: Police from occupying powers not only enforced foreign rule but routinely killed or brutalized Chinese civilians.

  “This is a strike that starts when an occupying army has taken over a city and starts fucking killing people.” (06:11, Mia Wong)

The Spark: The May 30 Incident

• Contract Talks Turn Deadly: What began as a labor negotiation devolved into a brawl; a Japanese foreman killed a well-known Chinese union leader (08:21–08:41).
• Escalation: Police arrested several workers and refused to release them, prompting a mass protest outside a British-run police station on May 30.
• Massacre: British police opened fire, killing ten and wounding fifty (08:51).
• A Witness’s Anguish: Mia quotes a moving passage from Ba Jian, a student on the scene, who captures the trauma and resolve such violence produces (09:13):

  “Reality proved they were bloodthirsty beasts. On the most crowded street of the city, they deliberately slaughtered unarmed people.... The time for patience was over.” (09:13, quoting Ba Jian)

• Modern Comparison: Mia links this historic violence to more recent events:

  “When I first quoted this passage in 2021, it was about George Floyd. Now it’s about Renee Goode and Alex Pretty. You understand... the overwhelming fire to do something.” (11:34, Mia Wong)

The General Strike Explodes (15:04)

• Immediate Impact:

  “What followed was the largest to that point general strike in the history of Shanghai. 200,000 people walked off the job almost immediately in the first wave of strikes.” (15:04, Mia Wong)

• Wider Unrest: The strike and protests spread across China. In Hong Kong, 250,000 people went on strike.
• Unity: Diverse groups—students, workers, business owners, and even gangsters—united against the occupying forces.

Challenges and Unique Features of 1925 Shanghai

• Gangster-Run City:

  “American cities are not... run by networks of organized crime who control every facet of political life... If you’re a union organizer in 1920s Shanghai, you are effectively a mob organizer.... The labor population... are migrant workers... brought in from other parts of the country by organized crime.” (16:16–17:20, Co-host)

• Violence as Politics: Mob violence, “dog beating brigades” (union enforcers with hatchets), and gangster dominance were part of daily life and labor organizing (29:56).

Why Did the General Strike Fail? (18:07–32:25)

Three Interlocking Factors:

1. Material Needs:

   • “People being able to eat, and the pressure that that put on the unions...” (18:47, Co-host)
   • The strike was sustained initially by union funds and sympathetic business elites, but as resources dried up, feeding the movement became impossible (27:30, Mia Wong).

2. Business Elites’ Betrayal:

   • Early on, patriotic business owners joined out of outrage, but when their profits suffered, they switched sides, prioritizing business as usual over solidarity.

     “Given the choice between imperialist occupation and me losing money and my workers gaining power, I will choose imperialist occupation.” (26:09, Co-host)

   • This pattern of cross-class alliance and inevitable betrayal is highlighted as a recurring theme.

3. State Repression:

   • Although brutal, it wasn't the immediate death knell.
   • Executions of leaders (“heads on pikes”), extrajudicial killings, and widespread terror followed, but:

     “...the repression isn’t what killed the strike. It was the problem of how do people eat...” (18:47, Co-host)

Organization Lessons for Today:

• The hosts point out that present-day activists have better logistics for sustaining strikes, citing recent mutual aid and food distribution efforts in Minneapolis (30:13).
• Lasting strikes must plan for food, housing, and resource redistribution—“you have to take control of the places where you're working and, you know, have them provide the food...” (30:26, Co-host).

The Uprisings that Followed: Lasting Legacy (32:08–33:53)

• Persistence Despite Defeat:
  • The initial strike’s suppression didn’t end the movement: subsequent years saw even larger general strikes and uprisings in Shanghai.
  • Brutal crackdowns followed uprisings in 1926 and 1927, but eventually, workers briefly took control of the city.
• Betrayal and Consequences:
  • Coalition with the Nationalist Party (under Chiang Kai Shek) and the USSR led to betrayal and mass slaughter of workers.
  • The episode underscores how these events politicized a generation and transformed Chinese history, shifting politics from warlord domination to popular mass movements.

Closing Reflections: Lessons and Hope (33:53–34:33)

• History Repeats and Instructs:

  “We are used to thinking that the times that we live in are unprecedented and in some ways they are. But people have fought our struggles before. People have fought and died and won to stop the reign of men with guns over our cities. And if we learn the lessons of both their time and ours... we can win.” (33:49–34:13, Mia Wong)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Emotional Parallels:

  “You understand that they are like us and you understand why they fought.” (11:46, Mia Wong)

• On Business Betrayal:

  “Given the choice between imperialist occupation and me losing money and my workers gaining power, I will choose imperialist occupation.” (26:09, Co-host)

• On Organizing and Survival:

  “If you want to keep this thing going, you have to take control of the places where you're working and… provide the food for people and have them provide the resources that people need.” (30:26, Co-host)

• On Legacy and Hope:

  “We have a world to win and nothing to lose but our chains.” (34:23, Mia Wong)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Background and Series Introduction: 03:12–06:09
• Shanghai’s Colonial and Warlord Context: 06:09–08:41
• The May 30 Massacre and Ba Jian’s Testimony: 08:41–11:46
• General Strike Ignites Across China: 15:04–16:14
• Gangster Politics and Migrant Labor: 16:14–18:05
• Movement Collapse: Food, Betrayal, and Repression: 18:07–27:49
• Tension with Business Owners, Logistics, and Worker Solidarity: 27:49–32:04
• Lasting Consequences and Lessons for Modern Movements: 32:04–34:33
• Closing Thoughts and Call to Action: 33:53–34:33

Final Thoughts

Mia Wong’s retelling of the Shanghai 1925 general strike sets historical facts against a backdrop of present-day movements, underscoring that the challenges of mass resistance—material survival, elite betrayal, and state violence—are perennial but not insurmountable. The episode offers hope that by learning from the past and organizing effectively, new generations can seize their moment, build solidarity, and transform the world.