Her Bail Renewed, Elizabeth Tang is as Spirited as Ever
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by
editor
14 April IDWF – UPDATE
It is with mixed feelings of hope and disappointment that we, at the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF), hear the news of the renewal of the release on bail of our General Secretary, Elizabeth Tang, today for only 10 days until April 24. Her passport continues to be held by the authorities and her personal bank account frozen, though no charge was pressed yet.
Elizabeth was arrested on March 9 for allegations of endangering national security and after being detained for 48 hours, she was released on bail with the condition of reporting back to the Hong Kong Security Police. Her police interview was today on April 14.
Throughout this month, the IDWF has received outpouring messages of solidarity, attesting to Elizabeth’s character, integrity, and expressions of tremendous gratitude from our membership for her service to domestic workers movements across the world.
When we tell the history of our federation, it is intertwined with the immense contributions of Elizabeth Tang. Since the very beginning, she was there: supported the formation of our global movement and pushed for the representation of domestic workers within International Labor Organization (ILO). Along with our late founding President, Myrtle Witbooi, their dynamic leadership has led to the creation and adoption of an international standard for our sector, making history and giving birth to innumerable gains for our movement in the last ten years.
As our global membership, allies, and friends closely monitoring the latest development of her case, their unwavering support has kept Elizabeth as spirited as ever. “I am most grateful for the support of colleagues, affiliates, and friends everywhere. Your encouragement, comradeship, and friendship are lifting my spirit and keeping me strong, ” she said.
The IDWF hopes to see a positive resolution of the situation soon. Through it all, we continue our work to build strong and united domestic workers movement and prepare to celebrate a decade of our movement’s accomplishments, a celebration that will only be complete with the unconditional release and return of Elizabeth.