The ACTU condemns the arrest of Carol Ng, the Chairperson of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), along with 52 other prominent pro-democracy activists, on 6 January 2021.
The activists were arrested under the National Security Law for allegedly ‘subverting state power’ by organising and participating in primary elections for pro-democracy candidates in last year’s postponed elections.
This is the latest crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, and follows the arrest of Lee Cheuk Yan, Secretary of the HKCTU, in 2020. Lee is facing multiple charges of unlawful assembly for participating in peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations and will stand trial later this year.
These arrests are an outrageous attack on the rights of workers to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of association.
The ACTU expresses our solidarity with the HKCTU and the people of Hong Kong in their struggle for democracy.
The ACTU calls on the Hong Kong government to drop the charges against Ng, Lee, and other pro-democracy activists, and we call on the Hong Kong Government to repeal the repressive National Security Law.
