One of Hong Kong s last opposition parties says it will disband

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s League of Social Democrats (LSD),one of the city’s last remaining opposition parties after a five-year political crackdown by Beijing, said on June 27 that it will disband.

The party was founded in 2006 and was once considered the radical faction in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp. It was known for its boisterous street-level campaigning, often spearheaded by the now-jailed activist “Long Hair” Leung Kwok Hung.

But its decline was hastened after Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong in 2020 in the wake of massive and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before.

“Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the League of Social Democrats. However, we will not survive to see that day and will announce our disbandment,” the party said in a message to reporters, adding that more details would be announced on June 29.

The LSD consistently called for greater democracy in Hong Kong and advocated for grassroots causes, criticising social and economic inequalities in a city with one of the world’s largest wealth gaps.

“When the system cannot faithfully represent the people’s demands and becomes a tool for the ruling classes, we must rely on a movement of the masses outside the system to put pressure on those in power,” LSD wrote on its website.

The party held three seats in Hong Kong’s legislature at its height.

It seized the spotlight in 2008 when then party leader Raymond Wong threw bananas at Hong Kong’s leader during his annual policy speech, protesting against welfare cuts.

The party’s firebrand image diminished in the late 2010s, however, when younger, more radical parties emerged to contest China’s rule.

Then came the 2020 national security law, which China and Hong Kong argue was needed to curb political unrest, but critics say has been used