Hong Kong Federation of Students
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| Formation | May 1958 |
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Secretary-General
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Nathan Law Kwun-chung |
| Affiliations | Pan-democracy camp |
| Website | hkfs |
| Hong Kong Federation of Students | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 香港專上學生聯會 | ||||||
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The Hong Kong Federation of Students (Chinese: 香港專上學生聯會, HKFS) is a student organisation formed by the student unions of 7 higher institutions in Hong Kong, 3 of which have resolved to withdraw from the federation. The purpose of the HKFS is to promote student movements and to enhance students’ engagement in society.
It is currently led by Nathan Law Kwun-chung, the secretary-general of the federation.
The Council (代表會) is formed by the representatives from the student unions of the universities. The representatives are elected by university students. The standing committee is appointed by the Council.
Contents
History[edit]
Early years[edit]
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The federation was founded in May 1958. Their purpose at that time was to promote students' participation in social affairs by representing students. There were originally four member university student unions. In its first term, the committee was made up of 7 students.
In the Senkaku Islands dispute, at the time of the transfer of the administration of the Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands from the United States to Japan in 1971, some Hong Kong students established the Hong Kong Action Committee in Defence of Diaoyutai Islands (香港保衛釣魚台行動委員會) on 14 February.[citation needed] The committee held demonstrations in front of the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong. 21 people were arrested, 7 of whom were university students. On 17 April, the Hong Kong University Students' Union held a peaceful demonstration in which about 1000 students took part. On 7 July, the federation held a larger-scale demonstration. As the federation was still an illegal organization at that time, some students were arrested by the Royal Hong Kong Police. On 13 May 1975, the federation held its last protest on the issue.
During 1975 to 1976, the standing committee of the federation voiced their support of the Cultural Revolution instigated by the Communist Party in mainland China. Mak Chung Man, who led students to protest against the communists, was criticised by the federation as being "against all the Chinese". This pronouncement caused great resentment among students, and the handling of diverging opinions became the main topic in the 1976 HKFS election.
In April 1977, the Hong Kong University Student's Union suggested removal of "anti-right wing" from the action guide of the federation but the standing committee refused to vote. All delegates from the Hong Kong University Students' Union withdrew in protest.
In April 1979, the federation held a memorial of May Fourth Movement, which was poorly attended.
During the 1980s, the federation started to support the democratic movements in Taiwan and mainland China.
In 1981 the Hong Kong Standard revealed that the HKFS had been on a 'Red List' in a classified Standing Committee on Pressure Groups (SCOPG) report. The report described the group as "pro-communist".
The federation reported Shue Yan College to the Independent Commission Against Corruption in March 1983 for serious corruption. However ICAC chose not to prosecute the college.
Pro-democracy[edit]
After 1984, the federation fully changed its direction from supporting communism to supporting democratic development.
In February 1989, about 4000 students boycotted classes to protest against the policy of the Education Department.
During the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, the federation took part in the demonstrations and the strike in China. On 20 May, when the tropical cyclone signal number 8 was hoisted, thousands of students took part in a massive demonstration. After the 4 June massacre, all universities' students stopped attending classes. Since then, there are memorial activities every year. In 1991, there was protests to support Wang Dan, however the police said it was a illegal protest and gave warnings to the committees, this angered the students.
Since the 1990s, the federation has taken interest in daily events in Hong Kong, and no longer restricts itself to the areas of education and politics.
In 2003, 2004 and 2005, the federation actively took part in the 1 July marches. In the one in 2004, the federation was the largest group present.
Rapid disaffiliation[edit]
The federation, led by Alex Chow and Lester Shum, was a participating organisation of the Umbrella Movement in 2014, which demanded genuine democracy in future chief executive elections.[1] Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok were occupied by suffragists for 2 months.
Some democractic activists criticised the federation for failing in leading the movement. Five of its member organisations held referendums on disaffiliation from the federation in early 2015, and four passed, reducing the number of member organisations from eight to four. The results are as follows:[2]
| Voting period | Member | Yes | No | Absentation | Invalid | Total | Turnout | Result | ||||
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| 9 Feb 2015 – 13 Feb 2015 | HKUSU | 2522 | (41.39%) | 2278 | (37.39%) | 1293 | (21.22%) | – | 6093 | 38.40% | Disaffiliate | |
| 10 Mar 2015 – 12 Mar 2015 | LUSU | 363 | (34.02%) | 607 | (56.89%) | 87 | (8.15%) | 10 | (0.94%) | 1067 | 29.96% | Affiliate |
| 16 Apr 2015 – 22 Apr 2015 | HKPUSU | 1190 | (68.67%) | 403 | (23.25%) | 126 | (7.27%) | 14 | (0.81%) | 1733 | 10.40% | Disaffiliate |
| 20 Apr 2015 – 23 Apr 2015 | HKBUSU | 934 | (55.66%) | 613 | (36.53%) | 108 | (6.44%) | 23 | (1.37%) | 1678 | 14.36% | Disaffiliate |
| 28 Apr 2015 – 6 May 2015 | CityUSU | 2464 | (76.12%) | 527 | (16.28%) | 174 | (5.38%) | 72 | (2.22%) | 3237 | 19.31% | Disaffiliate |
Amidst the rise of localism of Hong Kong in 2015, the Federation was absent for the first time from the Victoria Park candlelight vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre.
Members[edit]
The Hong Kong Federation of Students is formed by the student unions of 4 institutions:
- Chinese University Students' Union
- Lingnan University Students' Union
- Hong Kong Shue Yan University Students' Union
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Students' Union
- Preparatory member: Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Tsing Yi) Students' Union
- Friendly organization: Hong Kong Institute of Education Students' Union
Withdrawing members:
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University Students' Union
- Hong Kong Baptist University Students' Union
- City University Students' Union
Former member:
| Period | Years | Secretariat | Representative Council | Standing committee | ||||
| Secretary-General | Other members | Chairman | Vice Chairman | Secretary | Central Representatives | |||
| 54th | 2011-2012 | Daisy Chan | - | Sam Wong | Leo Tang | - | Fredrik Fan | - |
| 55th | 2012-2013 | Samuel Li | Ben Lam (Deputy) | Jacky Lai | Rowan Tang | Leo Tang | Queenie Chu Daisy Chan Sam Wong |
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| 56th | 2013-14 | Eddie Chan | Willis Ho (Deputy) Johnson Yeung (Deputy) |
Chan Man-fai | Law Kun-kit | Lam Siu-kit | Rowan Tang | - |
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hong Kong Federation of Students, HKFS. |
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