Western bosses seized at Chinese factory

Workers in China who feared losing their jobs at a western-backed company have staged a protest by taking their foreign managers hostage.

The managers were held for nearly two days until city officials intervened to conduct formal negotiations.

The hostages were released unharmed.

The incident happened at a food-and-drink packaging plant in the port of Tianjin, east of Beijing, which is due to change from joint American and Chinese ownership to being a wholly foreign-owned enterprise.

The six managers -- an American, two Malaysians and three Hong Kong citizens -- were seized by staff after it was announced that the change would mean redundancies. China has been experiencing a series of labour disputes as it prepares a range of industries for the competition which is expected when it enters the World Trade Organisation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service