Hundreds protest after closure of factory that made Disney souvenirs in China

More than 200 workers protested the closure of a factory that once made souvenirs for the Walt Disney Co. in southern China, an official and a labor activist said Friday.

The factory owned by Huangxing Light Manufacturing closed on Thursday in the city of Shenzhen, leaving 800 workers jobless and without compensation, said Vivian Yau, spokeswoman of Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, a Hong Kong-based labor group.

The workers surrounded the factory Thursday morning and demanded the government help them claim compensation from the management, a local Labor Bureau spokesman, who only gave his surname, Wang, told The Associated Press.

Police failed to control the protest, and the workers marched to a highway and tried to block traffic, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported.

Several workers were arrested and released later in the afternoon, Yau said.

"The workers were furious, hundreds of them even surrounded the police station and chanted slogans," Yau added.

Calls to Huangxing's offices went unanswered on Friday.

Yau said Huangxing once employed more than 1,000 workers and used to make merchandise like key chains for the Walt Disney Co.

The Post quoted an unidentified worker who said that about 80 percent of the factory's goods were once made for Disney. But Disney canceled all orders after the factory was accused of exploiting workers, the paper quoted the employee as saying.

Huangxing fired more than 300 workers last October, Yau said.

"There have been rumors (of closing) ever since. A few days ago, they fired all the security guards and we knew they would close the factory soon. But we didn't expect it so quickly," The Post quoted the worker as saying.