The ITUC-Asia Pacific strongly condemns the unjust sentencing of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, including trade union leaders, Carol Ng, former Chairperson of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), and Winnie Yu, former President of the Hospital Authority Employees' Association (HAEA).
Carol Ng and Winnie Yu were sentenced to imprisonment of 4 years and 5 months, and to 6 years and 9 months, respectively, under the charge of conspiracy to subversion under the PRC National Security Law in Hong Kong enacted in Hong Kong in 2020. Along with 47 pro-democracy activists, they have been unjustly detained since 2021 for taking part in preliminary elections. Two of the 47 were acquitted, while the remaining 45 were sentenced.
“The persecution of trade unionists like Carol Ng and Winnie Yu is a blatant attack on trade union rights to freedom of association, expression, and political participation protected under ILO Convention No. 87 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),” said the General Secretary of ITUC-Asia Pacific, Shoya Yoshida.
The NSL has systematically assaulted fundamental rights and civil liberties and dismantled the civil society and independent unions in Hong Kong. The ILO has urged the government repeatedly to release trade unionists imprisoned for exercising legitimate trade union rights under ILO Convention No.87.
The ITUC-Asia Pacific calls for their immediate and unconditional release of all the imprisoned trade unionists and pro-democracy activists, as well as the repeal of the National Security Law (NSL) as concluded by the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC). It also demands the Chinese and Hong Kong government to respect and enforce the recommendations of the ILO and the UN HRC.
“We strongly oppose any measures to quash workers’ voices and other expressions of democracy. We stand in solidarity with the civil society and the independent trade union movement in Hong Kong in their unwavering defence of workers’ rights and democratic freedoms amidst the persistent suppression and shrinking civic space,” Shoya Yoshida affirmed.
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