Four Chinese activists to stand on trial: speaker tour in UK

by mirjam — last modified 2023-08-17 15:46

Four of the activists who were arrested in Guangdong, China in December last year during a crack down on civil society are to stand on trial soon. In the December incident, more than 50 activists were interrogated and seven were detained or went missing. Next week, Chinese women activists are touring the UK to talk about garment workers in China and the Chinese arrests.

CCC stands in solidarity with the Hong Kong labour groups demanding this politically motivated case to be dropped and all labour right activists to be released immediately. You can read their statement here.

The speaker tour in the UK is organised by War on Want and will see women garment workers travelling the country from 26-29 July. Speakers are:

Sophie Chen, Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM). SACOM began as a students’ movement which has developed into a campaign group monitoring international corporates’ practice in mainland China. SACOM conducts undercover factory investigations and advocacy of labour rights in the garment, electronics, and toy industries, campaigning against global brands including Disney, Apple and UNIQLO.

Patricia Tse, Worker Empowerment (WE) creates labour education materials, conducts research and supports campaigns in Shenzhen and Huizhou. WE has gained rich experience on labour education over the past six years - essential to strengthening the labour movement.

Kiki Yeung, Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU). HKCTU is a trade union confederation representing 190,000 members and plays a key role in supporting workers rights in mainland China, where independent trade unions are banned.

Monina Wong is from the The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) based in Brussels and has worked as part of the labour movement in Hong Kong for over 15 years.