First they came for the protesters
Then the legislators
Then the media
Then the lawyers and speech therapists
Then the trade unionists
Make no mistake about it: Hong Kong's civil society groups are crumbling. The HKCTU's impending disbandment comes amid growing pressure from Chinese-backed media on the city’s unions and mounting national security probes on pro-democracy civil society groups. And earlier this evening came news that the HKCTU's Chief Executive, Mung Siu-tat, has left Hong Kong for the United Kingdom after, in his words, "A strong power forced me to make a painful choice between being a chief executive and being a father".
As was noted in the Hong Kong Free Press's piece about the HKCTU disbanding: "Pressure on pro-democracy groups which have long been part of the city’s social fabric has prompted critics to accuse Hong Kong authorities of using the security law to dismantle civil society [but] Carrie Lam has denied such an intention." This is in keeping with the line she's taken that that there's been no dismantling of civil society in Hong Kong taking place since the implementation of the national security law, which she told the United Nations back on June 30th, 2019, would affect only an "extremely small minority of people". But when the HKCTU's membership alone numbers some 145,000, I think it should be plenty clear that this is not the case at all.
2 comments:
Reagan pretty much dismantle the Union here.
Coffee is on and stay safe
Hi peppylady --
I'm sorry but I don't think the comparison between what happened to unions in Reagan-era USA and present day Hong Kong really works. Reagan may have weakened the unions but in Hong Kong, we're talking about major unions feeling pressured to disband and cease to exist altogether.
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