One of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy parties has dissolved. As Hong Kong media reported, the “Civic Party” (civic party) decided to dissolve after a vote with a clear majority of 30 of the 31 members present. It had been a long time since there had been any party members who wanted to run for the board.
After ongoing protests and calls for more democracy, Beijing passed a controversial national security law for Hong Kong in 2020. Several members of the Civic Party were subsequently arrested. The law is used by the Chinese government to take massive action against the democracy movement in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Legend:
Alan Leong Kah-kit, chairman of the Civic Party, informs media representatives about the decision of the party assembly.
Reuters / Tyrone Siu
In a statement, the leader of the Civic Party, Alan Leong Kah-kit, thanked “all like-minded people” who have joined the “party’s long road to democracy at various stages”. This reports the «Hong Kong Free Press» about the dissolution of the party.
The Civic Party did not achieve what it set out to do, “but everything has its time,” wrote Chairman Leong. He added that the party had to be “voluntarily dissolved” due to the lack of a successor in the party leadership and the group’s financial constraints.
Democratic voices are silent
The Civic Party, founded in 2006, was one of the most important democratic voices in Hong Kong. The Civic Party was considered moderate and was particularly popular with the middle class in Hong Kong.
Many other clubs, media and parties critical of the government have ceased operations and activities in the past three years.