Seven professional trade unions in Hong Kong have complained of political suppression and questioned the government’s plan to overhaul the professions.
Seven professional bodies, including the Hospital Authority Staff Front, the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union, the Hong Kong Journalists Association and the General Union of Social Workers, held a press conference on Sunday (22nd) to complain of political suppression. The union believes that since last year’s anti-proposal demonstrations, the government has been interfering with the professions and destroying the established norms of the professions. The union called on the profession to continue to uphold its professional autonomy and core values, and asked the government to stop interfering with the professions.
The Hospital Authority Staff Front chairperson, Yu Wai Ming, said the union has been a “thorn in the side” of the government since it went on strike in February this year and demanded a “lockout,” adding that the Authority has hired a team of legal advisors to send letters to the striking staff to pursue the cause. The Chairman of Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), Mr. Yeung Kin Hing, said that he was worried that the government would further tighten the regulation of journalists from the time the police amended the definition of “media representative” in the Police General Orders until the arrest of some journalists who were involved in illegal searches.
On the other hand, HKPTU and the Hong Kong Education Peer Front criticized the lack of transparency in the process of cancellation of teacher registration due to the design of the content of teaching materials, and considered that the Education Bureau does not respect the teaching profession. The GSWS pointed out that the government proposed to implement mutual recognition of social work profession with the Mainland, and some social workers were prosecuted earlier.
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