1796 days and counting! Defending democracy is not a crime #FreeLeeCheukYan

In 2021, Lee Cheuk-yan was imprisoned on charges of ‘inciting subversion of state power’.  This accusation shows how Chinese authorities have weaponised the law to silence dissent and dismantle Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. 

The Chinese government’s heavy handed response to Hong Kong people’s demands for universal suffrage and the autonomy promised in 1997 has raised serious concerns, including from the International Labour Organisation, which has pointed out that “a truly free and independent trade union movement can only develop in a climate free from … threats of any kind against trade union leaders”.   

Although the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ framework guaranteed that Hong Kong’s legal, economic and social systems would remain unchanged for 50 years, civil liberties have been steadily and recently rapidly eroded.   

Democratic reforms have not been delivered and China’s tightening control, combined with crackdowns on independent trade unions and civil societies culminated in the 2020 National Security Law and additional local legislation in 2024.  The HKCTU was forced to dissolve itself under government pressure and activists, journalists and elected representatives have either been prosecuted or imprisoned. These measures have shattered the pro-democracy movement, scattered its independent trade unions and ended Hong Kong’s promised autonomy. 

Lee’s arrest and trial fits into a wider pattern of legal harassment. Between 2020 and 2024, 316 protesters and activists, including 11 trade unionists, were arbitrarily arrested under broadly framed allegations of endangering national security.  

The HKCTU was a top target: Carol Ng, HKCTU President, completed a sentence of four years and six months in September 2025 for ‘conspiracy to subversion,’  while Christopher Mung, currently in exile in the UK through the British Overseas National scheme, is under an effective arrest warrant and has had his Hong Kong passport cancelled and his assets frozen.  

Lee Cheuk-yan’s subversion charge carries the risk of imprisonment of up to 10 years. Trade unions around the world, including the TUC, have expressed solidarity and called for human rights defenders not to be criminalised.  

The Global labour movement, via the Council of Global Unions, condemned Lee’s prosecution and called for his immediate release. 

We need the UK government to raise concerns about Lee’s case with the Hong Kong authorities so that they know Lee has international support.  

The UK government should call on the government of Hong Kong to: 

• Drop all charges against Lee Cheuk-yan
• Drop all charges against Chow Hang-tung who faces similar accusations.
• Release all trade unionists and activists imprisoned for exercising their rights, and drop charges against those in exile, such as Christopher Mung.
• Repeal the National Security Law (NSL) and the National Security Ordinance (NSO).
• Respect international human rights, including freedom of association and expression. 

What can you do? 

1. Ask our government to raise the issue with the government of Hong Kong: it it important for workers to make clear that workers’ rights in the UK are put under threat when independent union leaders are allowed to be criminalised for organising
2. Raise awareness among union members: spread awareness amongst fellow union members about the suppression of trade unions in Hong Kong and the charges against trade union leaders. Silence enables repression; collective voices create pressure. 

Lee Cheuk-yan’s struggle is our struggle, defending the universal, democratic rights of freedom of association, freedom of peaceful assembly and the right to organise.  

Defending democracy is not a crime! Free Lee Cheuk-yan! 

Further details can be found in the following links: 

Statement of the Council of Global Unions on the trial of Lee Cheuk-yan - International Trade Union Confederation 

Free Lee Cheuk-yan - International Trade Union Confederation