HKPTU to lower threshold for disbandment

The Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union planned to change their rules to facilitate disbandment.

Existing rules specified that the union could be disbanded only if at least two-thirds of its qualified members agreed to the decision through a secret ballot, which accounted to around 63,000 members out of the total number of around 95,000.

The HKPTU planned to lower this threshold as it believed two-thirds would be too difficult to achieve.

Fung Wai-wah, the president of the union, stated in yesterday's press conference that the HKPTU would host a special assembly. The two-third rule could be changed first, followed by a final decision by the council to disband the union.

The HKPTU announced its decision to disband yesterday shortly after the government decided to suspend working relationship with the union. The union has also come under fire from Mainland state media recently. They denounced it for conducting anti-China activities, calling the union a “tumour” and urged for its removal.

The Xinhua News Agency and the People's Daily commented today that the disbandment of the HKPTU could not compensate for its legal offences, and urged the city's law enforcement to investigate the union.