In early 2010, during the anti-high speed railway movement in Hong Kong, we noticed that there was increasing youth participation in political and social activism, and that youths in Hong Kong were becoming more radical against the backdrop of the global financial crisis. As such, a group of leftists came up with the idea of exploring the crisis through a left-wing lens, thereby providing a theoretical basis as well as a new direction for social activism in Hong Kong.
On January 21st, 2010, we held our first meeting, where we decided to further unite and consolidate left-wing forces by establishing a platform that would primarily use class analysis as its fundamental approach to the political economy. On this basis, ‘Left 21’ was founded on the 23rd of February.
After four months of planning, more than forty ‘Left 21’ members and supporters adopted the following as our aims and our work:
Our goals:
Short-term: To promote left-wing thought, get involved in different social movements, act as an advocate for labour-related economic and political movements
Mid-term: To support the establishment of a democratic political party representing the working class in Hong Kong
Long-term: To unite global anti-capitalist left-wing forces and fight for a truly democratic socialism
Our current work:
Organization: To recruit new members via directly engaging with labour activists, and using dynamic strategies to mobilize youth participation
Education: To establish an anti-capitalist discourse that reaches the general public and fosters labour-based economic and political struggles
Aid: To promote progressive thought and provide support for labour-related struggles, especially workers’ struggles in mainland China
Alliance: To build alliances with labour movements, environmental movements, feminist movements, student movements and leftist movements in Greater China, as well as engage with international democratic left-wing groups
Internal consolidation: To adhere to the principles of mass participation and democratic decision-making, and by building consensus through study and discussion, to serve as the backbone of the left-wing movement with responsibility, ideals, as well as organizational and analytical abilities.
