1 week Ago By Hans Tse
Hong Kong’s Democratic Party has passed a motion bringing it closer to disbandment, following reports that Chinese officials warned its senior members to shut down the opposition party before the upcoming legislative elections.Hong Kong’s Democratic Party chairperson Lo Kin-hei meets the press on April 13, 2025, after a special general meeting during which party members approved a motion to move forward with plans to dissolve the opposition party. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Democratic Party members on Sunday approved the motion to mandate the central committee to proceed with disbanding during an extraordinary general meeting, after the plan to dissolve the 30-year-old opposition party was raised in February.“This is not the final decision that the party is dissolved,” chairperson Lo Kin-hei told reporters after the meeting on Sunday.“In the coming few months, I hope there will be another general meeting that we actually will get that motion [to disband] into debate and vote,” Lo said, but added that there was no timetable for the matter.
Lo said around 110 members voted at Sunday’s meeting, with over 90 per cent approving the motion to let party leaders handle legal and financial matters related to disbandment.The vote “means that most of our members are willing to allow the central committee to take steps to dissolve the party,” he said.The chairperson announced in February that the Democratic Party would prepare to shut down and led a special task force to discuss the necessary steps.
He cited Hong Kong’s “overall political environment” for the decision.The Sunday vote comes after news reports over the past two days quoted the party’s senior figures as saying unnamed Chinese officials and middlemen linked to Beijing had warned them to disband the party or face “serious consequences,” including possible arrests.Hong Kong’s Democratic Party Chairperson Lo Kin-hei (left) and Vice Chairperson Mok Kin-shing meet the press on April 13, 2025, after party members approve party leadership to proceed with disbanding.
Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Reuters reported on Friday that five senior Democratic Party members, including Fred Li, received the warning. Li alleged that a Chinese official told him that the party should be gone by the legislative elections in December.
He had previously said the same during a Commercial Radio programme, without identifying the official.The Associated Press reported on Saturday that former party chairman Yeung Sum was told by Chinese officials that the party should disband. The report also did not identify the officials.
Other party members who declined to be identified were approached by middlemen linked to Beijing and received similar messages, according to the reports.Lo declined to comment on the news reports on Sunday, reiterating that the Democratic Party would assess the political and social environment in Hong Kong when reaching a decision.He also declined to comment on whether the party would definitely disband ahead of the legislative elections in December, saying that the process would take “as long as it needs.
”Hong Kong’s Democratic Party Chairperson Lo Kin-hei meets the press on April 13, 2025, after party members approve party leadership to proceed with disbanding. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.But he predicted that a motion to disband would likely be approved by party members in a future general meeting, saying that members “had been understanding of the situation faced by the party and the central committee.
”He said the Democratic Party would continue its policy advocacy until it finalised the decision to dissolve.Explainer: Hong Kong’s Democratic Party through the years – from its founding to looming endDemocratic Party was once the largest opposition party in the city’s legislature, commanding as many as 13 places in the then 60-seat legislature in 1998.It is the last and remaining major political party in Hong Kong after Beijing imposed a national security law to quell dissent following the huge pro-democracy protests and unrest in 2019.
Hong Kong’s Democratic Party. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.An electoral overhaul in 2021 to only allow “patriots” to run for office had effectively barred the Democratic Party from entering elections, and the 400-strong party now holds no seats in the legislature.
At least five Democratic Party members are currently behind bars, including two former chairpersons, Albert Ho and Wu Chi-wai.It has continued voicing criticism of government policies and commenting on social and political issues, however. The Civic Party, the city’s second-largest opposition group, officially shuttered in March 2024 after 18 years.
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