Hong Kong unions, learners fail to get active support for strikes against reliability law

Pro-democracy labour unions and a student group in Hong Kong didn't garner more than enough support to carry strikes against looming national protection legislation imposed by Beijing, in a blow for the Chinese-ruled city’s protest motion.

After a year of often-violent unrest, anti-government demonstrations have lost momentum due to higher threat of arrest, with recent rallies failing to receive police approval due to coronavirus restrictions on large crowds.

A strike was designed to open a fresh arena of resistance, but organizers said only 8,943 union people participated in a city-wide poll, falling brief of the 60,000 threshold to just do it, even while 95% of the votes were in favour.

Individually, the Secondary School Students Action Platform said it could not initiate a class boycott, because they fell short of a few of their targets for in-person votes.

Voting took place upon Saturday and the benefits were announced about midnight.

The unions represented almost two dozen industries, including aviation, transport, construction, technology and tourism. Many were formed during the past year as pro-democracy activists contain spearheaded the biggest force to unionise the laissez-faire, ultra-capitalist financing hub - where collective bargaining rights aren't recognised - since Britain handed the city back again to China in 1997.

China on Saturday announced information on the national reliability legislation, unveiling Beijing will have overarching powers above it has the enforcement and signalling the deepest modification to the city’s life-style since the handover.

The planned law has alarmed foreign governments and also democracy activists in Hong Kong, who were already concerned that Beijing was tightening its grip over the semi-autonomous city.

Officials in Beijing and Hong Kong experience sought to reassure traders that regulations will not erode the city’s high degree autonomy, insisting it'll target only a minority of “troublemakers” who have pose a risk to national security.