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HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s largest independent trade union was dissolved on Sunday, further fueling concerns about the space for civil society groups as a national security law and the extensive powers it grants to the police stifle dissent in the global financial center.
Founded in 1990, the 145,000 members of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) voted to disband, ending the organization as authorities exert increased control over central groups and unions. ‘business.
As anti-government protests in 2019 sparked a new wave of union activism in Hong Kong and triggered a 35% increase in registered unions, groups have been scrambling to disband since Beijing imposed the year’s security law. last.
Fears of breaking the law and facing sentences of up to life in prison have led to the dissolution of at least 29 unions since the start of this year, according to a Reuters tally.
HKCTU vice chairman Leo Tang said members of the group had received threats to their personal safety, without giving further details.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has denied that the government is cracking down on civil society, and authorities say all law enforcement actions are based on evidence and have nothing to do with criminal acts. political beliefs of those arrested.
(Reporting by Pak Yiu and Jessie Pang; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Hugh Lawson)
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