HK’s last opposition party to disband under pressure

Hong Kong's last major opposition party moved to disband on Dec 14 after a vote by its members, the culmination of Chinese pressure on the city's remaining liberal voices in a years-long security crackdown.

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The Democratic Party, founded three years before Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule from Britain in 1997, has been the city's flagship opposition. It used to sweep citywide legislative elections and push Beijing on democratic reforms and upholding freedoms.

However, mass pro-democracy protests in 2019 against a perceived tightening of China's grip on the city prompted Beijing to enact a sweeping national security law to stifle dissent.

On Dec 14, members of the Democratic Party voted to disband the party and to enter liquidation, its chairman Lo Kin-hei told reporters after an extraordinary general meeting.

"To have journeyed through these three decades, shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong, has been our greatest honour. Throughout these years, we have always treated the well-being of Hong Kong and its people as our guiding purpose,” he said.