{"id":19149,"date":"2025-04-13T16:48:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T16:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/hong-kongs-democratic-party-once-a-formidable-force-to-disband\/"},"modified":"2025-04-13T16:48:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T16:48:19","slug":"hong-kongs-democratic-party-once-a-formidable-force-to-disband","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/hong-kongs-democratic-party-once-a-formidable-force-to-disband\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong\u2019s Democratic Party, Once a Formidable Force, to Disband"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Democratic Party in Hong Kong was for decades the city\u2019s largest opposition party. It led protests demanding universal suffrage. Its lawmakers sparred with officials in the legislature about China\u2019s encroachment on the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It was born in the 1990s of an audacious hope: that opposition politicians and activists could pressure Hong Kong\u2019s iron-fisted leaders in Beijing to fulfill their <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/backgrounder\/hong-kong-freedoms-democracy-protests-china-crackdown\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">promise<\/a> of expanding democratic freedoms for the city of several million people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On a rising wave of demands for democracy, the party grew to more than 1,000 members at its height in 2008. Its effort to maintain a moderate stance drew criticism, including from within its own ranks, from those seeking to push harder against Beijing.<strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> <\/strong>Yet<strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> <\/strong>moderation could not save<strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> <\/strong>the party\u2019s leaders from being caught in the dragnet as China tightened its control over Hong Kong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Now it is disbanding, one more casualty in Beijing\u2019s suppression of Hong Kong\u2019s once-vibrant political opposition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Its leaders have been arrested and imprisoned on national security charges. Its members are effectively barred from running for local office and routinely face harassment and threats. Raising money is hard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe have not achieved what we set out to do,\u201d Fred Li, a founding member of the party who was not part of the most recent leadership, said in an interview, referring to democratization under Chinese rule. \u201cWithout money or resources, we can\u2019t even survive ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The party said Sunday that it held a preliminary vote and that 90 percent of the roughly 110 members in attendance voted to authorize its leaders to dissolve the party.<strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> <\/strong>(The party plans to call another vote in the coming months before it disbands officially.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Its chairman, Lo Kin-hei, had publicly indicated earlier that the political environment was too challenging to survive but declined to go into details. Veteran party members like Mr. Li said that Chinese officials or their intermediaries had urged them to disband. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Other smaller pro-democracy parties and civic groups have closed since Beijing in 2020 imposed a national security law giving the authorities sweeping powers to quash opposition, part of a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/19\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-security-law-china.html\" title=\"\">crackdown on free expression<\/a> more generally. Even a polling group, the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HKPublicOpinionResearchInstitute\/posts\/pfbid0CAv4Avnok5zr3V67dMusAWGpLZQoez3U8d9jM5dFJ3KmBNodPhRuKwNgqjv4d8mHl\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Public Opinion Research Institute, said<\/a> in February that it would suspend all self-funded research after the national security police repeatedly detained the institute\u2019s director for questioning. Critics of the Hong Kong government have been denied entry to the city, including a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/werahobhouse.bsky.social\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">British lawmake<\/a>r who tried to visit her newborn grandson this past week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Democratic Party was established in the twilight of Hong Kong\u2019s days as a British colony, as the city prepared to return to Chinese control in 1997.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The party\u2019s founders, Martin Lee, a legislator, and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/01\/03\/world\/asia\/03szeto.html\" title=\"\">Szeto Wah<\/a>, a union leader, led protests against the Communist Party after it sent troops to crush pro-democracy demonstrations around Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989. They co-founded a political group that evolved in 1994 into the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Democratic Party sought to hold leaders accountable to two promises enshrined in treaties signed by Britain and China and outlined in the Basic Law, Hong Kong\u2019s mini-Constitution: that the city would retain a high degree of autonomy and that it would eventually hold direct elections for its top leader. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey tried to present to people in power: This is what you promised us, so you have to honor it,\u201d said Victoria Hui, a political scientist at the University of Notre Dame, who drafted speeches for Mr. Lee in the early 1990s. \u201cFor so long, they took for granted that those words would protect us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The party became a thorn in Beijing\u2019s side. Mr. Lee traveled abroad to press Western leaders to hold the Communist Party in check, prompting Beijing to brand him a traitor. His party organized protests to oppose security laws in 2003, eventually forcing the ouster of Tung Chee-hwa, the city\u2019s unpopular leader.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But public discontent rose over unemployment, high housing prices and rising competition for jobs in Hong Kong. The political system was seen as dominated by the city\u2019s business and social elite, and demands grew for greater democracy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Democratic Party became a target of criticism at times, including in 2010, when it negotiated with Beijing officials on a plan <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/06\/22\/world\/asia\/22hongkong.html\" title=\"\">to expand the number of directly elected seats<\/a> in the legislature. Other opposition lawmakers rejected the measure, saying it fell short of real democracy. The move also divided the party, leading many to quit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite growing calls for democratic elections, Beijing did not give Hong Kong greater public participation in the election of its leader. People occupied neighborhoods in Hong Kong for about 10 weeks in 2014 in a protest called the Umbrella Movement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Inside the party, a younger generation began to push back against the old guard, arguing more action was needed, along with talks. The party, which had been steadily losing votes, successfully fielded a crop of new candidates in 2016, including Ted Hui, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/25\/world\/asia\/hongkong-arrests-lawmakers.html\" title=\"\">Lam Cheuk-ting<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/07\/04\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-protests-roy-kwong.html\" title=\"\">Roy Kwong<\/a>, expanding its foothold in the legislature.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Hui, who was a lawmaker until 2020, said that in the past decade, the party\u2019s nonconfrontational approach began to encounter a more impatient public. \u201cIt was a difficult balance walking a moderate path within a radicalizing society, while also needing to get tougher,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The party was caught between conflicting political forces. \u201cTheir relatively moderate position didn\u2019t really effectively improve the relationship between Hong Kong and Beijing over the past decade,\u201d Ma Ngok, an associate professor of government at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said in an interview. \u201cAs younger people became more radical, the party\u2019s influence has been on the decline.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A major challenge came during 2019, when months of anti-government protests engulfed the city. Initially marches were family friendly, but they descended into violence, with protesters throwing Molotov cocktails. Though the party had long advocated for peaceful protest, its leaders, seeking to maintain unity, hesitated to disavow the violent tactics of some protesters. Younger members of the party tried to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/07\/04\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-protests-roy-kwong.html\" title=\"\">mediate between protesters and the police<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After the pro-democracy camp held an unofficial primary in 2020, two weeks after Beijing imposed the security law, the authorities targeted the candidates who had taken part. Many Democratic Party members and leaders were <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/01\/05\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-arrests-national-security-law.html\" title=\"\">swept up in mass arrests months later<\/a>. Four former lawmakers from the party were <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2023\/02\/06\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-47-democracy-trial.html\" title=\"\">convicted under national security charges and imprisoned<\/a>. The government has also offered a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/04\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-bounties-dissidents.html\" title=\"\">bounty for the arrest<\/a> of Mr. Hui, who fled Hong Kong in 2021 and lives in Australia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">No Democratic Party members have held elected office since Beijing imposed a drastic overhaul of the city\u2019s political system in 2021, requiring candidates running for the local legislature and district councils to be \u201cpatriots\u201d vetted by Beijing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For a few years the Democratic Party held on, despite severe constraints. It sought to provide pro bono legal services for the public and to comment on current affairs and on government policies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIn spite of the fact that we have no position anywhere, people continue to trust in us, and they come to us,\u201d said Emily Lau, a veteran member and a former chairwoman of the party. \u201cBut still, under the circumstances, when people get arrested and so on, I think our members are very brave.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/13\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-democratic-party-disbanding.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Democratic Party in Hong Kong was for decades the city\u2019s largest opposition party. It led protests demanding universal suffrage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[349,900,5992,475,1144,5993,3822,5995,4482,5997,469,476,5996,5994],"class_list":["post-19149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-china","tag-democratic-party","tag-democratic-party-hong-kong","tag-demonstrations","tag-hong-kong","tag-hui","tag-johns-hopkins-university","tag-kwong","tag-lee","tag-martin-c-m","tag-politics-and-government","tag-protests-and-riots","tag-roy-1983","tag-ted-1982"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Hong Kong\u2019s Democratic Party, Once a Formidable Force, to Disband - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/hong-kongs-democratic-party-once-a-formidable-force-to-disband\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hong Kong\u2019s Democratic Party, Once a Formidable Force, to Disband - World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Democratic Party in Hong Kong was for decades the city\u2019s largest opposition party. 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