Protest Report: Trade Unionists Say 'Free the Hong Kong 47!'
By 歐迅灵 of Workers Against the CCP
On the 26th November 2023 around 100 trade unionists, Hong Kongers, Chinese dissidents & a range of allies came together outside the Chinese embassy, to show solidarity with the 47 Hong Kongers on trial, facing charges of conspiracy to commit subversion. Their trial under the National Security Law is now awaiting a verdict.
Thank you to everyone that came! For a new campaign group, it was really heartening to have so many friends & allies - both individuals and those representing organisations - show up for our allies in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong trade unionists & other democratic activists have been detained for over 1000 days on charges under the HK National Security Law. It is vital that they are not forgotten & that we continue to fight for our friends & allies facing suppression by the CCP. Most of the independent trade unions have been forced to dissolve under intense state pressure and intimidation. So have many other groups, including Media organisations, civil society groups, political parties & more.
Our specific demands were:
Free Carol Ng, Winnie Yu, Leung Kwok-hung and all the HK47!
Free Lee Cheuk-yan, Elizabeth Tang, and all others imprisoned and repressed for worker organising and pro-democracy activity!
Freedom to organise independent trade unions and political opposition in Hong Kong and China!
Refugees welcome in the UK: sanctuary for all those fleeing persecution for fighting for labour and democracy, from Hong Kong or anywhere else!
Hello everybody it is good to see you here. Those 47 imprisoned, many of them are my friends.
I think these 47 really symbolise one thing. That is, the unification of different sectors in the democratic movement. Different generations: we have the pan democrats there, we have the young generation there. We have the labour movement there, and we have community groups and so on and so forth. So the 47, represents a unification of the people, of a great people's alliance!
This is one thing I would like to say and that is also leads to the second point: and that is why the Communist Party must suppress us! Because they fear the people!
The last point I would like to make is that in many sense the 2019 revolt has something similar with the 1989 Chinese democratic movement. In what sense? In the sense that during the movement, when the students first took the vanguard role, then soon the labour struggle emerged eventually. In 1989 and in 2019. And this is also what frightens the Communist Party!
I think if we draw lessons from both the 1989 and the 2019 democratic struggles, to see the power of the people’s alliance and to witness the great mobilisations of the working people and then the next time, with the correct strategy, with more strength, we will BE BACK!
He was followed by “Apple” of China Deviants, who passionately spoke of how Hong Kongers had supported her & the China Deviants group from the outset!
We heard also from Christopher Mung, Executive Director of Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor and former chief executive of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions.
And we heard speeches & received messages of solidarity from:
Equity UK activist Daniel York Loh (who expertly compared the event).
Reps from the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Carol Ng in union campaigns of past years.
PCS Assistant General Secretary John Moloney
UCU NEC member and former President Vicky Blake
Socialist MPs John McDonnell & Nadia Whittome
Camden Unison shop steward and Labour Campaign for Free Movement organiser, Ben Tausz
“Chef”, a member of Workers Against CCP
We are still uploading remaining videos to our Youtube channel.
Finally, we sang union anthem Solidarity Forever together, in English and Cantonese. (Admittedly we do need to practise the latter more!) The bonds between workers around the world, and the collective power in our hands, are our hope in the face of oppression and exploitation - the union makes us strong!
This was our first protest event but won’t be our last. We are committed to continuing to speak out against the suppression in Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang and China itself. We stand in solidarity with workers who fight for their rights & our union friends fighting for the right to freely associate without government interference.
As trade unionists and activists, we stand in solidarity with all our siblings in Hong Kong and around the world fighting for democracy and freedom to organise - causes which are as vital as oxygen to the labour movement and its battles for workers’ rights and workers’ power. An injury to one is an injury to all!
More videos will be uploaded to our Youtube channel over the course of the next few weeks.
Groups attending included Labour Movement Solidarity with Hong Kong, Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor, China Deviants, British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (a branch of Unite), Unison (including from branches in Camden, Barnet and Lambeth), Equity, UCU, PCS, Workers’ Liberty, the Labour and Green parties, Power To Hongkongers, HKers United, and Battersea & Wandsworth Trades Union Council. (Apologies if we missed any - please contact us for any additions).
For more information about our campaign please sign up to our newsletter. And for more background on the situation of workers’ rights in Hong Kong we recommend Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor.
Media coverage of the protest in Cantonese, with interviews with some of the participants, can be found here, via 追新聞 The Chaser.