Hong Kong’s last pro-democracy party disbands, citing years of security crackdowns
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The news: Hong Kong’s League of Social Democrats, the city’s last active pro-democracy party that still held street protests, announced on Sunday it would disband due to “immense political pressure” from years of national security crackdowns.
The decision was announced at a press conference by chair Chan Po-ying, who said the party had been “left with no choice” after considering the safety of members, according to media reports.
The group cited the “near-total imprisonment of our leadership,” the “erosion of civil society,” and the “draconian suppression of dissent.”
The context: Founded in 2006, LSD was the last group to hold street protests amid a crackdown following the 2019 anti-government demonstrations. After China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 and passed Article 23 covering crimes like sedition and treason in 2024, pro-democracy activism has sharply declined.
The Hong Kong and Beijing governments have said the national security laws are necessary for the city’s stability and to address ongoing security threats, following mass pro-democracy protests in 2019. China’s top official on Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, said last month in a speech that national security work must continue. “We must clearly see that the anti-China and Hong Kong chaos elements are still ruthless and are renewing various forms of soft resistance,” Xia said.
The Democratic Party, the largest opposition party, disbanded earlier this year, while dozens of civil society groups and media outlets also shut down. LSD members have faced repeated arrests and fines for public activities, according to The Associated Press and Reuters, and the party lost access to its bank accounts in 2023, Reuters reported.
What they said: In a statement cited by Al Jazeera, the LSD said: “Over these 19 years, we have endured hardships of internal disputes and the near-total imprisonment of our leadership, while witnessing the erosion of civil society, the fading of grassroots voices, the omnipresence of red lines, and the draconian suppression of dissent,” it said.
But “the road has narrowed beyond passage”, it added, warning that the “terrain ahead is even more treacherous”.
The sources: Associated Press, Reuters, Al Jazeera
