Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, which was once the largest party in an active opposition camp, held a meeting on Thursday at which it said it would discuss its own dissolution, amid an ongoing crackdown on all forms of public dissent under two national security laws.
Party Chairman Lo Kin-hei told journalists that the topic will be up for discussion at the meeting, describing the topic as “inevitable” in the current climate.
The party’s central committee will also discuss many other matters, including its suggestions ahead of the government’s budget on Feb. 26, Lo told a news conference on Wednesday.
The news came just weeks after a court in Hong Kong sentenced 45 democratic politicians and activists to jail terms of up to 10 years for “subversion” after they took part in a democratic primary in the summer of 2020.
The ongoing political crackdown has already seen the dissolution of the Civic Party, which disbanded in May 2023 after its lawmakers were barred from running for re-election in the wake of the 2020 National Security Law.
The pro-democracy youth activist party Demosisto disbanded in June 2020.
Lo has previously suggested that the Democratic Party, which was formed in 1994, should try to hold on despite the threat of being targeted by national security police.
“I have no baggage here,” Lo said. “If we really need to [disband], then we will.”
“I’ve said publicly many times over the past two or three years that if the day comes, we will just have to face up to it.”
Few remaining options
A person familiar with the workings of the party told RFA Cantonese that the Democratic Party can only be formally dissolved after multiple discussions and procedures involving the members and the central committee, and after a general assembly vote with 75% attendance.
Exiled former Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui said there are few options left for his former party.
“I understand that a lot of party members and central committee members are becoming more and more worried about their personal safety,” Hui said. “They run the risk of arrest at any time.”
He said if the party does eventually disband, the move would show “the total destruction of any democratic process in Hong Kong.”
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The government has blamed several waves of pro-democracy protests in recent years on “foreign forces” trying to instigate a democratic revolution in Hong Kong.
Recent electoral reforms now ensure that almost nobody in the city’s once-vibrant opposition camp will stand for election again, amid the jailing of dozens of pro-democracy figures and rule changes requiring political vetting.
The last directly elected District Council, which saw a landslide victory for pro-democracy candidates amid record turnout that was widely seen as a ringing public endorsement of the 2019 protest movement.
The first Legislative Council election after the rule change saw plummeting turnout, while Chief Executive John Lee was given the top job after an “election” in which he was the only candidate.
Since Beijing imposed the two national security laws banning public opposition and dissent in the city and blamed “hostile foreign forces” for the resulting protests, hundreds of thousands have voted with their feet amid plummeting human rights rankings, shrinking press freedom and widespread government propaganda in schools.
‘Not surprised’
Democratic Party founding chairman Martin Lee, who has been dubbed the “father of Hong Kong democracy,” told the Ming Pao newspaper that he hasn’t heard from the central committee on the matter, but that he was “not surprised” by the talk of dissolution.
The Communist Party-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao said the party was heading for dissolution, accusing it of having “committed many evil deeds over the years.”
“If this political cancer isn’t completely eliminated, it will inevitably endanger national security and bring disaster to Hong Kong,” the paper warned.
The party has survived threatening op-eds before.
A 2022 article in the Ming Pao by Lu Wenduan, who plays a leading role in the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front influence operations, warned that the party would be doomed if it “turns a deaf ear to warnings issued by the Wen Wei Po and the Ta Kung Pao.”
Following the jailing of 45 opposition activists in December 2024, the Wen Wei Po said the party was incompatible with the principle of “patriots ruling Hong Kong,” adding that “disbandment is the only option.”
The party has made some nods toward the new political climate, trying to demonstrate its “patriotism” and and being careful not to run afoul of security laws.
But the calls for its demise haven’t let up.
Party members have received harassing and threatening emails and text messages from people describing themselves as “patriotic, Hong Kong-loving citizens,” Lo told the news conference.
And its attempts to hold fundraising events have been forcibly canceled by venues, likely under pressure from the authorities, putting it under financial strain and limiting the scope of its activities.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Ha Syut and Yam Chi Yau for RFA Cantonese.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
