Hong Kong’s last major opposition party has been disbanded after a vote by its members and the culmination of Chinese pressure on the city’s remaining liberal voices in a years-long security crackdown.
Chairman of the Party, Lo Kin-hei told reporters after an extraordinary general meeting.
According to reports, the Democratic Party has been Hong Kong’s flagship opposition since its founding three years before the financial hub’s return to Chinese rule from Britain in 1997. It used to sweep city-wide legislative elections and push China on democratic reforms and upholding freedom.
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.