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Members of Hong Kong’s biggest teachers’ union vote to disband after 47-year run
- Move by Professional Teachers’ Union comes after education authorities cut ties and police chief warned of national security investigation
- The organisation says it will distribute its assets among its 95,000 members after paying off debts
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Members of Hong Kong’s biggest teachers’ union on Saturday passed a motion to formally disband and wind up the 47-year-old organisation, a month after its leaders announced it would break up under pressure from authorities.
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The decision by the Professional Teachers’ Union (PTU) was made at an extraordinary general meeting and came after members last month voted to amend its constitution so fewer would be required to initiate the disbanding.
The change meant only two-thirds of attendees would need to back the step. Of the roughly 140 members who attended Saturday’s meeting, more than 130 voted in favour. Previously, two-thirds of the union’s 95,000 members would have been required to agree.
Officials and pro-establishment figures have strongly criticised the PTU for its open involvement in political activism, including its support for the 2019 anti-government protests and helping stage school boycotts during the unrest. The group was also accused of “promoting books that glorify violence” following media reports its bookstore was selling literature documenting the unrest.
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Pressure on the opposition-leaning union began to increase in July when education authorities announced they were severing all ties with the PTU. Hours earlier, the Xinhua state news agency and Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily branded the organisation a “malignant tumour” that must be eradicated.
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