Han Dongfang has advocated for workers' rights in China for more than two decades, starting with his work setting up the Beijing Workers’ Autonomous Federation (BWAF) during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. In 1994, he established the China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based non-governmental organization working to defend workers’ rights across China. He has won numerous international awards, including the 1993 Democracy Award from the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy.