Hong Kong teachers’ union to end under government pressure

Hong Kong’s largest union, the Vocational Teachers’ Union, is being dissolved due to massive pressure from the authorities, who are cracking down on the pro-democracy movement in any way they can.

Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union (HKPTU) Chairman Fung Wai-wah said after lengthy discussions, the board unanimously decided that the job had become impossible.

The HKPTU’s decision follows media coverage last month in Chinese state media such as the People’s Daily and the Xinhua News Agency. In this document, the union was referred to as a “toxic tumor” which must be removed.

Controversial security law

The union played an important role in pro-democracy protests. Although the organization was seen as fairly moderate, the government accused the union of playing a key role in encouraging young people to take to the streets.

Since March 2019, there have been massive protests against China’s growing influence. In 2020, a controversial security law implemented. The new law prohibits, among other things, further secession, foreign interference and “subversive activities” in Hong Kong.

Chinese lesson

Sovereignty over the former British Crown colony was transferred to China in 1997. Under the motto “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong has maintained a high degree of independence. In recent years, however, freedoms have been curtailed in all areas, and this has been happening more and more since the introduction of the security law.

Since then, foreign media have regularly reported teachers in Hong Kong who have had their lessons changed. Among other things, they said the curriculum had been changed and schools had received new textbooks from China. At the end of June, the newspaper had to shut down Apple Daily, one of the few critical media outlets in Hong Kong. even stop under pressure from the Chinese government. In July, the former editor of the pro-democracy newspaper.

The HKPTU was founded in 1973 and had 95,000 members.