In Hong Kong, its last major opposition party – The Democratic Party – disbanded today after a vote by its members, marking the culmination of Chinese pressure on the city’s remaining liberal voices in a years-long security crackdown. The 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 pushed China toward democratic reforms and the upholding of freedom.
After a general meeting, Chairman Lo Kin-hei told the media that today, the members of the Democratic Party voted to disband the party and enter liquidation. The vote to disband comes just a week after Hong Kong held a patriots-only legislative council election, and one day before media mogul and China critic Jimmy Lai is set to receive a verdict in a landmark national security trial.
