Members of Hong Kong’s biggest teachers’ union are mourning the sudden decision to disband a group that staunchly defended their rights for decades, saying the organisation cannot be replaced by another body any time soon. Analysts described the break-up of the Professional Teachers’ Union (PTU) as yet another heavy blow to the opposition camp and warned that other prominent outfits could come under greater pressure in the city’s highly charged political climate. After union president Fung Wai-wah announced the startling decision on Tuesday afternoon, crowds flocked to the Mong Kok supermarket operated by the group, one of its major businesses that had helped generate the group’s roughly HK$300 million (US$38.6 million) in turnover every year. Lining up outside the Good Hope Building on Nathan Road, members told the Post they came after hearing the news. “I feel very bad about this,” said one retired lecturer who joined the union more than 20 years ago and did not wish to be identified. “When I read the news that the PTU is disbanding, I thought to myself: this is something that could not be happening for real. But when I think about the current [political] atmosphere, there is not much that the union can do.” But he called the union’s decision to disband “appropriate” given the uncertainty over whether authorities would act on an earlier warning to investigate if the group’s activism breached the national security law . “Nowadays, the bad ones have to be eradicated, and even the good ones are being eradicated. Who else would have the courage to speak out in the future?” he asked. The union was founded in 1974 by the late Szeto Wah, one of the most influential democratic politicians in Hong Kong of the past 40 years. While principal of a primary school, Szeto spearheaded the first citywide teachers’ strike in the previous year over a decision by the British colonial government to cut their salaries by 15 per cent. Over the ensuing decades, the PTU used its growing clout to defend the interests of educators and advocate for policies members believed were in the best interests of students and schools, eventually attracting 95,000 members. When protesters launched the Occupy Central movement in 2014 seeking universal suffrage, the PTU published teaching resources for members with content on civil disobedience. Despite raising the ire of authorities, such was the union’s stature that in 2017, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor lobbied members for support in her ultimately successful fight to become the city’s leader. But as Lam said last week the turning point came during the 2019 anti-government movement . Authorities at the time slammed the organisation for staging school boycotts during the protests and accused the group of “promoting books that glorify violence”. She accused the union of trying to influence pupils by spreading “anti-government” or “anti-Beijing” sentiment, claims the group denied. The disbandment of the union raises questions over the fate of other opposition-leaning groups, such as the Civil Human Rights Front – organiser of the city’s annual July 1 march and some of 2019’s biggest protests. The influential Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions called the PTU a “sacrificial lamb” in the government’s suppression of civil society. Asked whether the confederation could be Beijing’s next target, the body’s chief executive Mung Siu-tat would only say: “Inevitably, the disbandment of the PTU will deal a big blow to the union movement. In face of such adversity, we will stay put.” The Hong Kong Journalists Association said it appreciated the union’s decision and conceded it could face a more difficult future. “As Hong Kong’s largest single-trade union, the PTU had played an important role in the city’s labour movement … Despite the increasing difficulties and risks, the association will walk on as unions are indispensable in defending the industry’s rights.” No evidence teachers’ union breached national security law: top adviser Political analyst Hui Ching, research director at the Hong Kong Zhi Ming Institute, said the break-up of the PTU “dealt a blow” to the government, as it had now lost a representative voice in the education sector. “There was no report that PTU or any of its leaders was under investigation by police. It is a lawful union. The saga also gave the public an impression that Hong Kong is now governed by Xinhua and People’s Daily ,” he said. Hui was referring to critical commentaries by the two state-run media that came ahead of the Hong Kong authorities latest attack, calling the group a tumour that should be removed. Localist lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai, who sits on the Legislative Council education panel, said the role the union played could not be replaced in the near future. “I see its closure as a serious blow to the local teachers’ rights movement,” he said. “Without the PTU, there will be only one voice in the education sector. The room of the democracy camp will get smaller and smaller. Maybe that is what Beijing wants to see.” How did Hong Kong’s largest teachers’ union enrage Beijing But pro-establishment lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun disagreed. “It’s time for the education sector to leave behind the PTU, which has been a burden, and let the sector start anew,” she said. Polytechnic University political scientist Chan Wai-keung argued the union had crossed a red line during the 2019 social unrest when it stood too close to radical separatists. “If Szeto was still here in charge of the PTU, he would have handled the red line more wisely. He had long dealt with Beijing and knew how to navigate politics,” he said. Standing at the supermarket in Mong Kok, another union member described the disbandment as heartbreaking and “a loss to all of Hong Kong”. “Besides purchasing items from the supermarket, through the PTU – as the city’s biggest teachers’ union – we got to learn more about how they viewed some education policies,” said the university instructor who has been a member for almost 30 years. “Without the PTU, we will only be learning less about these topics … The union has been an obvious choice of who can represent me as an educator.” He said he believed the organisation had “tried its best” to keep going, adding that the PTU’s role in representing teachers could not be easily filled by another union. “Some voices will now be gone from [society] and eventually this could affect the rights of our teachers,” he warned. Additional reporting by Chris Lau