Four one-time leaders of what was formerly the city’s biggest opposition-leaning trade union have been taken in for questioning by national security police after the disbanded group was accused of breaching a law governing the registration of local organisations. The four members of the Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU), which folded in October, had failed to respond to a series of questions issued by the National Security Department last month regarding the organisation’s operations and finances, as well as its subordinate groups and their links to foreign entities. A source said former CTU chairman Joe Wong Nai-yuen, vice-chairman Tang Kin-wah and treasurer Chung Chun-fai were taken to police stations on Thursday morning to be questioned, while general secretary Lee Cheuk-yan, who is serving time over unauthorised assemblies, was also interviewed by officers. “In a letter sent to the force last Thursday, the group failed to disclose requested information about its operations, past activities, financial sources and links to groups outside Hong Kong,” the police insider said. Opposition Hong Kong trade union votes to disband amid security law fears “The core members of the CTU allegedly violated the Societies Ordinance and needed to assist our investigations. No arrests have been made.” Failure to comply could result in a fine of up to HK$100,000 (US$12,840) and six months behind bars. Those who provide false, incorrect or incomplete information face the same fine and a jail term of up to two years. With nearly 100 affiliated sector-based unions representing more than 145,000 members, the CTU, which was set up in 1990, was one of the two most influential labour groups in Hong Kong, and had a long history of aligning itself with the opposition camp. The other is the pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions. The CTU was among more than a dozen disbanded opposition groups targeted by authorities in the name of national security last year. Police officers from the National Security Department on Thursday raided more than 10 locations across the city under search warrants granted by the High Court, seizing documents and electronic devices from the union’s offices and warehouses. The insider said investigations showed the union had transferred a large quantity of documents to the branches of City-up, an education centre, where the papers were uncovered by officers during the search, adding that the group had held training courses at City-up locations in Jordan, Kwai Hing and Sha Tin. He stressed that authorities were looking into allegations the group had colluded with foreign forces. An initial inquiry found the CTU was suspected of receiving HK$13 million in donations from the US foundation National Endowment for Democracy between 1994 and 2013 to encourage political reform, the insider said, adding that it was believed the money was used to promote illegal activities during the 2014 Occupy movement. The source added the CTU had actively promoted the establishment of trade unions in different industries during the 2019 social unrest. Some of the newly established groups had cooperated to launch citywide strikes and encourage large anti-government activities, creating social divisions and inciting hatred against authorities, the insider added. “The CTU has yet to cancel its registration despite announcing its disbandment in October,” the source said.