Issued on: 10/08/2021 -
Hong Kong has seen a crackdown on dissent since pro-democracy protests engulfed the city two years ago DALE DE LA REY AFP/File
Hong Kong (AFP)
Hong Kong's largest union announced it decided to disband on Tuesday citing "huge pressure" as authorities stamp out the city's democracy movement and impose political orthodoxy on the finance hub.
Founded in 1973, the Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) was the city's single largest union with some 95,000 members and was a prominent player in the democracy movement.
"After discussions, the executive committee unanimously decided to disband the union," Fung Wai-wah, PTU president, told reporters, describing the decision as "heart-wrenching".
"The social and political environment has quickly changed in recent years, we are under huge pressure. We can't find a way to resolve the crisis we are now facing," he added.
China has cracked down on its opponents since huge and often violent democracy protests convulsed the city two years ago.
A sweeping security law has criminalised much dissent while an official campaign has been launched to purge the city of those deemed unpatriotic.
The PTU was one of the more moderate voices within the democracy movement -- often shunned by more radical forces who felt it was too soft on the government.
But it still came under sustained attack by local and Chinese authorities who believe teachers played a key role in motivating Hong Kong's youth to hit the streets in huge numbers two years ago.
Last month, multiple Chinese state media outlets ran articles criticising the union as "a malignant tumour that must be removed".
Hours later, Hong Kong's education bureau said it was severing ties with the union, saying it had become "no different from a political body".
City leader Carrie Lam later accused the union of allowing "anti-government and anti-Beijing sentiments" into classrooms and campuses.
Since Beijing imposed its national security law just over a year ago more than 30 political and professional groups have disbanded to avoid legal risks according to an AFP tally.
More than 120 opposition leaders and activists have been arrested by a new national security police unit. Some 60 have been charged, most of them denied bail.
© 2021 AFP
Hong Kong (AFP)
Hong Kong's largest union announced it decided to disband on Tuesday citing "huge pressure" as authorities stamp out the city's democracy movement and impose political orthodoxy on the finance hub.
Founded in 1973, the Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) was the city's single largest union with some 95,000 members and was a prominent player in the democracy movement.
"After discussions, the executive committee unanimously decided to disband the union," Fung Wai-wah, PTU president, told reporters, describing the decision as "heart-wrenching".
"The social and political environment has quickly changed in recent years, we are under huge pressure. We can't find a way to resolve the crisis we are now facing," he added.
China has cracked down on its opponents since huge and often violent democracy protests convulsed the city two years ago.
A sweeping security law has criminalised much dissent while an official campaign has been launched to purge the city of those deemed unpatriotic.
The PTU was one of the more moderate voices within the democracy movement -- often shunned by more radical forces who felt it was too soft on the government.
But it still came under sustained attack by local and Chinese authorities who believe teachers played a key role in motivating Hong Kong's youth to hit the streets in huge numbers two years ago.
Last month, multiple Chinese state media outlets ran articles criticising the union as "a malignant tumour that must be removed".
Hours later, Hong Kong's education bureau said it was severing ties with the union, saying it had become "no different from a political body".
City leader Carrie Lam later accused the union of allowing "anti-government and anti-Beijing sentiments" into classrooms and campuses.
Since Beijing imposed its national security law just over a year ago more than 30 political and professional groups have disbanded to avoid legal risks according to an AFP tally.
More than 120 opposition leaders and activists have been arrested by a new national security police unit. Some 60 have been charged, most of them denied bail.
© 2021 AFP
The forced disbanding of the Professional Teachers’ Union is another flagrant breach by China of its international obligations to Hong Kong
Today, the Professional Teachers’ Union, Hong Kong’s biggest teaching union announced that it is disbanding as a result of pressure from the Chinese Government.
The teaching union, which has existed for 47 years and has 95,000 members, has increasingly come under pressure from the Hong Kong Government which announced it would no longer recognise it following pro-Beijing outlets describing the union as “a malignant tumour” that needs to be eradicated.
Kevin Yeung Yu-Hung, Hong Kong’s Education Secretary, this week called for teachers to rethink their association with the union and the Hong Kong Police Commissioner has said that the police will investigate the union for any potential national security violations.
Under Article 27 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law, Hong Kongers are guaranteed the right and freedom to join trade unions and to strike.
Commenting on the disbanding of the Professional Teachers’ Union, Benedict Rogers, Hong Kong Watch’s Chief Executive, said:
“The forced disbanding of the Professional Teachers’ Union is a new low for human rights in Hong Kong. Not content with jailing pro-democracy activists, journalists, and students, Beijing and its acolytes in the Hong Kong Government have turned their attention to attacking trade unions and teachers under the pretence of state security.
China has once again flagrantly breached its international obligations to the people of Hong Kong and their previous commitments to respect their right and freedom to join and participate in trade unions.
The international community must respond by finally sanctioning Hong Kong and Chinese officials who appear to be breaching the Sino-British Joint Declaration, suspending basic freedoms, and violating human rights on an almost weekly basis.”
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