The official Web site of a Hong Kong-based group that tracked worker unrest in China was unavailable to access on Friday, a day after it abruptly announced it would cease operations due to financial issues.
Founded by veteran pro-democracy protest leader Han Dongfang (韓東方) in 1994, China Labour Bulletin (CLB) said on its site on Thursday that it “can no longer maintain operations.”
It said it would dissolve “due to financial difficulties and debt issues,” and would stop updating its Web site, according to an archived Web page seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Photo: AP
Its social media platforms have also been removed.
The Web site monitored the Chinese labor movement from Hong Kong, tracking and mapping worker unrest for three decades, closely watching the biggest labor disputes related to China and documenting worker strikes across the country.
An AFP reporter visited CLB’s office address in Hong Kong on Friday afternoon and saw it closed for business with its sign removed.
The residence’s landlord took the office back at least a month ago, security staff at the scene said.
Before the group shut down, it reposted on social media a report analyzing international workers’ strikes that it had jointly researched.
Its Web site could be accessed as normal on Thursday.
The group’s founder Han was a leading protester and unionist in pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing in 1989, which eventually turned into a bloody crackdown around Tiananmen Square.
He was jailed for his role in the protests and moved to Hong Kong in the 1990s where he started a decades-long effort to promote and defend Chinese workers’ rights remotely.
Last month, he indicated on social media that he and his team would continue “without ending” their tracking work.
“Let’s keep our faith up at this abnormal time and continue our important work,” he wrote.
However, on Friday he told the Central News Agency the decision to dissolve was made by himself and “due to financial problems,” adding that he would stay in Hong Kong.
Han reportedly declined to answer other questions.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
RSS