Thread by @aaronMCN

Yesterday, HKUSU withdrew from @HKHIIAD, an umbrella group of Hong Kong student unions that was formed in late July to assist in international lobbying

The delegation played a highly visible role in pushing for the passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act

The withdrawal means the departure of one of the delegation's more prominent spokesmen, @SunnyCheungky, and shines a light on the complications that arise when trying to centralise decision-making, even on a limited basis, in a fast-moving situation like the HK protests have been

According to student magazine Undergrad, Cheung was asked during yesterday's HKUSU Council meeting whether @HKHIIAD had a charter

He replied that the delegation was formed in a hurry and hasn't yet drawn up a charter, but once it has, accountability mechanisms would be included

Cheung was further asked whether @HKHIIAD was independent of @HKFS1958, and he replied that it was

He added however, that because the delegation had not yet registered as a society or a limited company, it was still sharing a bank account with @HKFS1958 undergrad.hk/17986

Remember, @HKHIIAD, despite being only months old, testified at a US congressional hearing during the protests and its visibility in terms of promoting the passage of the US act was arguably second only to Demosisto, a group which has been around for much longer

Clearly, accountability for this visible organisation is important, yet it never had time to formalise its structure

Yesterday, much attention was devoted to the lack of communication channels to allow information to filter from the delegation to the student unions it represents

Yet it would be a mistake to compare this with the post-Occupy withdrawal of student unions from @HKFS1958, which, for many, symbolised a steady decline in student activism after 2014

Yesterday's decision, while reached near-unanimously, was not made in an atmosphere of ill-will

Undergrad's reporting of the HKUSU Council meeting suggests the decision is temporary, and HKUSU could possibly rejoin once a formalised structure is in place

@JooeySiiu, speaking on behalf of CityU SU, told me they respected the decision and the door is always open to HKUSU

HKUSU's withdrawal has also not affected progress on the list of individuals that @HKHIIAD proposes should be sanctioned under the US act

@JooeySiiu told me that this list is already complete and has been sent to international contacts, not just in the US but elsewhere

The point of this thread is that we shouldn't ignore the internal workings of @HKHIIAD

While it may seem like trivial student politics, how this develops will affect the wider protest movement

My understanding is that CUSU will have its own meeting tomorrow to discuss the issue