Under National Security Law, the Hong Kong social organizations continuously disband

Since the promulgation of Hong Kong’s national Security Law, at least 49 NGOs have been dissolved or suspended since January this year, according to Hong Kong media.
Hong Kong Branch Association of

“Candlelight June 4th” Hong Kong Alliance

The Hong Kong Alliance, which represented the “June 4 candlelight”, announced on September 25th that it was disbanded. This marks the birth of this in 1989 in the vigorous student civil movement, and in the democratic movement was suppressed after holding high the “June 4” torch to accompany the world through more than 30 years of the Hong Kong civic organization officially entered history.

The full name of the association is “Hong Kong Citizens’ Association for Supporting patriotic and Democratic Movements”. On Saturday afternoon, the group held a special general meeting at the June 4 Memorial Hall it founded to vote on whether to disband. The vote was 41 to 4. Dissolution is a foregone conclusion.

The disbanding is the latest civic group to be forced to disband in the more than a year since Hong Kong’s national security law came into force. The move comes after about a dozen civic groups were forced to halt their activities. Hong Kong’s democratic forces lost an important force last month when the 48-year-old Association of Professional Teachers in Education, the city’s largest teachers’ union, disbanded.

Choi Yiu-cheong, secretary of the branch association, lamented the disbandment of the organization, saying that the June 4 rally could not be held as smoothly as in the past. But he believes the idea will be rooted in the hearts of Hong Kong people. Hong Kong people will continue to commemorate June 4 regardless of their status.

“No regime can take away the memory and conscience of the people,” lee Cheuk-yan, the head of the association, said in a message sent from prison on Saturday, according to the BBC. “The ideals of the association have been passed down in the hearts of every Hong Kong person. There is fire and hope.”

“Tens of thousands of people will take over the fight to rectify the June 4th movement and build democracy,” Lee Zhuoren said.

The 19-year-old Hong Kong Civil Human Rights Front

The Civil Human Rights Front, best known for hosting the July 1 anti-government protests in Hong Kong, has disbanded after 19 years. Became the next pan-democratic organization in Hong Kong to be terminated under the National Security Act, following the Hong Kong Association of Professional Teachers in Education (HKIED).

In a statement on August 15, the party said it had dissolved its secretariat on August 13 by consensus because its convenor, Chan Ho-hwan, had been jailed, its secretariat had become inoperative and no members were willing to participate in the work of the incoming secretariat. The party said it was grateful to the Hong Kong people for standing shoulder to shoulder with the organization.

Since March, Hong Kong officials and pro-Beijing media have accused the PARTY of receiving funding from U.S. government organizations, endangering the Communist Party of China, violating Hong Kong’s National Security Law, and committing other criminal offenses. Establishment politicians have urged the Hong Kong police to investigate. Mr. Chan had previously criticized BBC Chinese for saying the police investigation was a political crackdown aimed at shutting down the organization.

HKCTU, founded in 1990

Hong Kong’s largest independent trade union, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), officially dissolved on October 3th. The implementation of Hong Kong’s version of the national security law, and the sweeping powers it gives the police, has further stoked fears that the authorities are stifling dissent.

Founded in 1990, the CTU is a key pan-democratic organization in Hong Kong with 145,000 members. At a special general meeting on Sunday, the motion to dissolve was passed by a vote of 57 to 8, with two abstentions.

Union president John Wong said at a press conference after the meeting that the delegates were well aware of the union’s situation and made the helpless decision with a heavy and struggling heart. He said the dissolution of the union was a major setback for the independent workers’ movement, but that the workers’ resistance would not disappear. He hoped that fellow workers and Hong Kong people would not lose heart.

In 2019, antigovernment protests triggered a new wave of labor activity in Hong Kong, with the number of registered labor unions jumping 35 percent. However, with the implementation of Hong Kong’s national Security Law on June 30 last year, a number of trade unions have been disbanded under pressure from the authorities.

According to a Reuters tally, at least 29 unions have dissolved since the start of the year over fears they could face life imprisonment.

Tang Jianhua, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, says some of its members have been physically threatened. He did not elaborate.

Hong Kong chief Executive Carrie Lam has denied the government is cracking down on civil society. Hong Kong authorities say all enforcement actions are based on evidence and have nothing to do with the political beliefs of those arrested.

50-year-old Student Union of the Chinese University of Hong Kong

The Student Union of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) announced its dissolution on October 7th. In a statement on social media such as Facebook and IG, the club said it would like to thank the students and the community for coming with us for so many years.

“As a member of CUHK, our relationship with the university has been strained from time to time, but we still have ways to communicate,” the statement said. Even in shaky times, the university recognized the student union’s legal place on campus. However, since February this year, the university has announced that it will stop collecting membership fees on behalf of the student Union, and requires us to register independently with the government and bear legal responsibilities on our own. In this regard, the student Union once sought professional legal advice, and the barrister suggested that the student Union ‘does not need’ to register independently. The 50-year history of the student Union could end if the legal advice is followed. Otherwise, we find ourselves in a dilemma.”

“In view of this, and in the best interests of the students, we convened a joint meeting of the Student Union on September 10, 2021 to accept the motion of resignation and dissolution of the Student Union. Since then, the 51st cuHK Student Union, which adhered to the democratic process, has become history.