> to hold a vigil for a Facebook employee who took his own life after allegedly [being] bullied in the company and suffering extremely excessive work pressure
In America at least, black clothing (typically formal wear, the specifics vary from place to place) is strongly associated with mourning. It's traditional garb at funerals and gatherings to pay respects for the departed. This may be different in other countries, and it's not a universal practice, but it's common enough that most everyone understands the meaning.
For context for those who are not already aware, since this is being downvoted... white traditionally has the same associations in Chinese culture. So it was not an entirely unreasonable question. The answer is just that this happened in the US, not China, and wearing white in the US would be unusual.
This is a pressure tactic against Facebook. They are also carrying signs and chanting slogans. Of course the signs and slogans are in English; wouldn't do much good in Chinese. So it makes sense they would follow the custom of the country they are in and the company they are trying to pressure.
> September 26 was an unforgettable day for many Chinese migrant tech workers in Silicon Valley, as hundreds of them gathered on a blazing hot day at Facebook’s "Thumbs up" sign at the entrance to the social network company’s Menlo Park, CA, headquarters, to hold a vigil for a Facebook employee who took his own life after allegedly bullied in the company and suffering extremely excessive work pressure.
Chinese migrant workers do not typically observe the traditions of the western world, for the very good reason that they don't come from the western world.
Even the coverage is obviously being done by foreigners:
> After weeks of interviewing sources within the company, including employees who had worked in the same and overlapping internal groups with Mr. Chen and possess of first hand information on his tragedy
> This investigation found out that as Facebook grew to its scale of today, its management still wish to maintain the company’s image as a fast-paced startup with high growth.
> Facebook's Ads department, the most profitable unit of the tech giant, where Mr. Chen worked, is under a circumstance more complicated than other businesses, products and departments within the company.
> Eric, a senior staff of the company whose wanted his full name to be omitted for privacy reasons