Hong Kong’s biggest teachers’ union walked fine line politically for decades under ‘Uncle Wah’, so what finally triggered Beijing’s wrath?
- Late founder of Professional Teachers’ Union, Szeto Wah, was once one of Beijing’s most trusted dissenting voices
- Political pundits say PTU was not always at loggerheads with Beijing, although opinions are split on what made it finally strike out
The late founder of the Professional Teachers’ Union (PTU), Szeto Wah, was once one of Beijing’s most trusted dissenting voices having been invited to sit on an exclusive committee to draft Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in the mid-1980s.
But on Saturday, the Education Bureau in Hong Kong said it would no longer recognise the 95,000-strong union Szeto set up almost half a century ago, hours after two Communist Party mouthpieces called it a “malignant tumour” which had to be removed.
Reflecting on its history, political commentators said the PTU had not always been at loggerheads with Beijing, although opinions were split on what finally triggered its wrath.
Lau and others in the pro-establishment camp accused the union of going beyond its remit and taking on an increasingly political role over the past few years.
