A coordinated wave of international support has emerged ahead of the verdict in the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HK Alliance) national security trial. Lee Cheuk-yan, former chair of the Alliance and former general secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), and former Alliance vice-chair Chow Hang-tung face charges of “inciting subversion of state power” and up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The verdict is due this Friday, 21 August.
In response, 90 trade unions from around the world, spanning a wide range of sectors, have come together to call for Lee’s immediate release, along with fellow activist Chow Hang-tung. Major unions in France, the UK, Australia, and Spain have also written directly to their foreign ministers and the Chinese consulate to express strong concern over the prosecutions.
The Council of Global Unions, the world’s largest global trade union platform, based in Geneva and representing more than 200 million workers worldwide, has launched a global petition condemning Lee’s prosecution as a violation of fundamental rights and calling for his unconditional release. In a joint statement, the Council of Global Unions highlighted Lee’s longstanding role in building Hong Kong’s independent trade union movement and his unwavering defence of democracy and freedom of association in China. The statement stressed that exercising the rights to assemble and associate is not a crime, but a core human right protected under the UN Charter and international law. Criminalising such rights, it said, is a “serious breach of human rights and the rule of law.”
Other major international federations have added their voices, including the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), IndustrialALL Global Union, International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and Public Services International (PSI).
Separately, France’s two largest trade union confederations, Confédération française démocratique du travail (CFDT) and Force Ouvrière (FO) wrote to Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, urging France to respond to the repression of Hong Kong unionists and to use diplomatic channels to pressure Beijing to halt systematic crackdowns on independent unions.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) also raised alarms with Foreign Minister Penny Wong, stressing that defending democracy and union rights is not a crime. The ACTU called on the Australian government to demand that Chinese and Hong Kong authorities respect international human rights obligations, drop the charges against Lee, and release him immediately.
In Brazil, the Central Sindical e Popular – Conlutas, together with 69 local unions, sent a letter to the Chinese consulate demanding Lee and Chow’s unconditional release and calling for the repeal of the National Security Law. Similar letters have been sent by the UK’s GMB and Spain’s Comisiones Obreras (CCOO).