The Spark Remains: Carrying Forward the Struggle
Five years ago, under the shadow of the National Security Law, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) was forced to announce its dissolution after sustained and intense political attack. The dissolution of HKCTU undoubtedly dealt a severe blow to Hong Kong’s labour movement, but it did not mean the movement’s end. Over the past five years, Hong Kong workers have continued to rise up in defence of their survival and dignity, in actions large and small, proof that the spirit of resistance has not died.
Lee Cheuk-yan, former General Secretary of HKCTU, was recently sentenced to seven years in prison in the case against the Hong Kong Alliance. Yet imprisonment has not broken his resolve. Throughout his trial, he continued to speak the truth in the face of state power, holding firm to the belief that the pursuit of democracy is no crime. When HKCTU dissolved, he wrote from prison expressing his belief that Hong Kong’s labour movement would endure: “The road we have walked together will, in time, be walked again by others following in our footsteps.”
Founded in 1990, HKCTU was the first independent trade union confederation in Hong Kong’s history, marking workers’ determination to break free from state control and chart an autonomous, independent path. For 31 years, HKCTU stood at the frontline of labour struggles, working to establish independent unions across industries and becoming the most steadfast and resounding voice of Hong Kong’s working people.
Reflecting on the path HKCTU has walked, we remain firm in our conviction that independence is the soul of the labour movement, and that democracy is its most fundamental value. A labour movement without autonomy is a body without a soul; a union without democracy is reduced to a puppet in the hands of those in power. Trade unions are among the most broadly grounded organisations within any democratic movement, and it was precisely for this reason that HKCTU became a primary target once the regime resolved to suppress Hong Kong people’s growing demands for democracy.
Yet we firmly believe that no amount of suppression can extinguish the labour movement. As HKCTU stated in its own dissolution declaration: “Wherever there is resistance to exploitation, there the labour movement will continue to exist.” A regime may dissolve an organisation, but it cannot erase the democratic consciousness that workers have already awakened to. It may forbid workers from taking to the streets, but it can never eliminate the many forms resistance can take. Even in the most difficult of times, we have continued to see, over the past several years, workers stepping forward one after another, successfully organising collective actions against exploitation, for better conditions, and in defence of unions, achieving hard-won victories along the way.
Five years on, the regime has never relaxed its suppression of civil society; political control has only intensified. We call on the international community to continue paying attention to, and standing in solidarity with, the situation in Hong Kong, so that Hong Kong workers under attack do not have to fight alone. Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor remains committed to holding its ground, carrying the voices of Hong Kong workers to the world, until no one in Hong Kong is imprisoned for trade union activity, until Hong Kong workers regain their freedom of association and expression, and until every person in Hong Kong enjoys equal democratic rights.
Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor