Hong Kong, December 14 (EFE). — The Hong Kong Democratic Party, the last major opposition party remaining active in the former British colony, goes to the polls this Sunday to vote on its own dissolution, which would mark the end of more than three decades of political activity in the city.
According to Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, the party will hold its annual general meeting this Sunday, where this vote will be the main item on the agenda.
Formed in 1994, the Democratic Party, once the main bastion of opposition in the city’s legislative assembly, found itself in a critical situation with no representation in either the legislative council or district councils.
The formation’s president, Lo Kin-hei, had previously stated that the organization’s dissolution was “inevitable” after numerous local groups and parties such as Civic and the League of Social Democrats were dissolved following Beijing’s imposition of the national security law in 2020.
Matters became even more complex in March 2021, when the Chinese government passed a law intended to ensure that only “patriots” could rule in Hong Kong.
This regulation significantly reduced democratic representation in the assembly, consolidated control over electoral processes, and established a candidate selection body aligned with Beijing’s interests.
In 2010, the Democratic Party held discreet negotiations with officials in Beijing and managed to reach a compromise agreement on the path to political reform in Hong Kong, although this dialogue was met with strong opposition from its supporters and allies, who viewed it as an act of betrayal.
Despite the criticism, the group knew how to adapt and established itself as the main reference of the opposition bloc in the city.
However, with the passage of the National Security Law, developments took a drastic turn: four party MPs were sentenced in 2024 to prison terms of up to six years and nine months for conspiracy to commit subversion after they took part in unofficial “primaries,” which the judiciary interpreted as a conspiracy to overthrow the government.
Since these regulations and electoral reforms came into effect, there has been constant speculation about the future of the Democratic Party, fueled by numerous police raids and arrests of activists or their relatives in recent years. EFE
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