The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) announced in September 2021 that it was preparing to disband, after 31 years of leading the democratic trade union movement in the region.
In the month’s leading up to the decision, the HKCTU and its member organisations had faced unprecedented attacks, intimidation and allegations of offences under the 2020 National Security Law. The personal safety of union leaders had also been threatened.
The pressure on and ultimate disbanding of the HKCTU formed part of the process of the dismantling of civil society in Hong Kong since the enactment of the National Security Law in July 2020.
China’s law on “Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” had been criticised by UN human rights experts for contravening international human rights treaties, notably because terminology in the law criminalises rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
On Sunday 3 October, members backed a resolution to cease operations by a vote of 57 to eight, with two abstentions, at an extraordinary general meeting held in its Kwai Chung training centre, meeting the four-fifths threshold required to officially dissolve.
