June
2025
China Labor Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based nonprofit that advocated for workers’ rights for over three decades, abruptly announced its closure in June 2025, citing financial difficulties and debt issues. Founded in 1994, the organization maintained a database tracking workers’ strikes, protests, workplace accidents and other labor rights incidents in China, providing valuable resources for journalists and academics. The group deleted its Facebook and Instagram accounts and announced plans to stop updating its website content.
The shutdown came as dozens of civil society groups have disbanded or left Hong Kong following the 2020 Beijing-imposed national security law, though China Labor Bulletin had continued operating despite the political changes. The organization’s founder Han Dongfang, a former railway worker who participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, told Taiwanese media that the shutdown was his decision and that he would remain in Hong Kong.
The closure appeared sudden to observers, as Han had written about continuing their work just three weeks prior to the announcement. It is unclear whether the shutdown of China Labor Bulletin is connected to a raid conducted by Chinese national security authorities operating in Hong Kong which targeted the homes of six unnamed people and the office of an unspecified organization that Hong Kong authorities claimed to have suspected of committing “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.”
Summary
The closure of China Labor Bulletin represents another significant erosion of Hong Kong’s role as a safe haven for Chinese activists, marking the end of a three-decade advocacy effort that had survived China’s broader political transformations until now. While the organization cited financial difficulties as the reason for its shutdown, the timing and abrupt nature of the closure—coming just weeks after founder Han Dongfang had written about continuing their work—suggests the decision may have been influenced by the increasingly restrictive environment for civil society organizations in Hong Kong. The deletion of social media accounts and cessation of website updates also indicates a complete withdrawal from public advocacy rather than a temporary financial restructuring.
This closure fits within the broader pattern of civil society dismantlement that has accelerated since Beijing imposed the national security law in 2020, which has led dozens of organizations to disband or relocate. The simultaneous raids by Chinese national security authorities on unnamed individuals and organizations suspected of “collusion with foreign elements” creates an atmosphere where even long-established groups focused on labor rights—traditionally somewhat distinct from other opposition causes—can no longer operate safely. China Labor Bulletin’s shutdown eliminates a crucial independent source of information about Chinese labor conditions and worker activism, further consolidating Beijing’s control over narratives around workers’ rights, reducing transparency into labor disputes across mainland China, and stymieing efforts by academics and researchers to better understand the labor environment in China.
Analysis
