Hong Kong s last major pro democracy party moves to disband

HONG KONG - Hong Kongs Democratic Party said late on Feb 20 that it would start preparations to disband and wind up its affairs after a meeting of its leadership, amid a years-long national security crackdown in the city.

Founded in 1994 in the run-up to the citys return from British to Chinese rule in 1997, the Democratic Party grew into the largest and most successful opposition party – garnering strong public support in city-wide elections, and it has long been a key symbol of the citys freedoms and plurality.

Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei said the partys members still needed to vote on the dissolution to make it final at a future meeting, with a 75 per cent majority required from the members in attendance.

“Developing democracy in Hong Kong is always difficult, and it’s especially difficult in the past few years,” Mr Lo told reporters at the party’s headquarters. “This is not what we wanted to see.”

When asked about political pressure, Mr Lo said the decision was made after a careful consideration of the “overall political environment”.

He noted, however, that the party’s finances remained relatively sound and the party could keep going for longer if need be.

Under Hong Kong’s so-called “One-Country, Two Systems” arrangement, the city is promised a high degree of autonomy and freedoms under Chinese rule, but in recent years, the authorities have used the security laws to arrest scores of democrats and shutter civil society groups and liberal media outlets.

An overhaul of the electoral system in 2021 to ensure only pro-China “patriots” can govern Hong Kong also effectively shut the democrats out from the political arena, marginalising them further.

The crackdown has drawn international criticism from countries such as the US, Britain, Australia and Canada.

The Hong Kong and Chinese authorities,