In this issue: Authoritarian Crackdown, Labour Movement Endures | Event | HK Labour Rights Newsflash
Fifth Anniversary of the National Security Law: Authoritarian Crackdown, Labour Movement Endures
Five years ago, Hong Kong authorities imposed the National Security Law (NSL), launching a sweeping crackdown on dissent and civil society. In 2025, the government further tightened control by amending the Trade Union Ordinance, giving the Registrar absolute power to reject union registrations and permanently bar individuals deemed “national security” threats.
Under political purges, draconian laws, and constant administrative harassment, independent unions have been pushed to the brink of collapse. Our new report, Hong Kong Trade Unions Under Authoritarian Rule: Five Years After the National Security Law, reveals that since 2021, at least 247 unions have disbanded. Membership has sharply declined, and unions have become severely fragmented. At least 16 union leaders have been arrested, jailed, or put on wanted lists — even overseas activists are targeted.
Despite these attacks, workers are not fully silenced. Workers’ resistance continues. We urge the international community to stay vigilant and support those defending workers’ rights under authoritarian rule.
June 4: 36 Years On — The Candlelight Never Dies
When even a flower or candle terrifies a regime, commemorating June 4 has become taboo in Hong Kong. This year, Victoria Park and Causeway Bay were heavily policed, with mourners detained on the spot. The authorities’ fear of the truth has reached near hysteria.
Yet despite the crackdown, Hongkongers bravely continue to commemorate, showing courage in the face of tyranny and lighting the way for others.
On the same day, candlelight vigils took place worldwide — in the UK, US, Canada, Taiwan, Australia and beyond — keeping the memory alive.
Outside the Chinese Embassy in London, Christopher Mung, Executive Director of Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor, stressed that the candles honour not only those killed in 1989 but also those jailed for insisting on remembrance. He noted that trials against Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, and Chow Hang-tung symbolise a wider attack on all who dare to remember.
🕯️ Candles can be snuffed out, but belief lives on. As Victoria Park falls dark, the world lights up.
HK Labour Rights Newsflash
- Four Years On: From the Shutdown of Apple Daily to the Demise of Press Freedom in Hong Kong <Read more>
- MPF Defaults Signal Business Trouble: 400,000 Notices Issued, Only 0.07% Prosecuted <Read more>
- Police Clampdown Marks June Fourth in Hong Kong as Remembrance Efforts Suppressed <Read more>
- June 4, 36th Anniversary: Six Years Without Candlelight in Hong Kong — We Refuse to Forget <Read more>