Hong Kong's last active pro-democracy group says it will disband amid security crackdown
HONG KONG, June 29 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's League of Social Democrats said on Sunday that it would disband amid "immense political pressure" from a five year-long national security crackdown, leaving the China-ruled city with no formal pro-democracy opposition presence.
The LSD becomes the third major opposition party to shutter in Hong Kong in the past two years.
Co-founded in 2006 by former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung as a radical wing of the pro-democracy camp, the LSD is the last group in Hong Kong to stage small protests this year.
Mass public gatherings and marches spearheaded by political and civil society groups had been common in Hong Kong until 2020, but the threat of prosecution has largely shut down organized protests since.
China imposed a national security law on the former British colony in 2020, punishing offences like subversion with possible life imprisonment following mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
A second set of laws, known as Article 23, was passed in 2024 by the city's pro-Beijing legislature covering crimes such as sedition and treason.
Current chair Chan Po-ying said the group had been "left with no choice" and after considering the safety of party members had decided to shutdown. Chan declined to specify what pressures they had faced.
"We have endured hardships of internal disputes and the near total imprisonment of our leadership while witnessing the erosion of civil society, the fading of grassroots voices, the omnipresence of red lines and the draconian suppression of dissent," Chan told reporters, while flanked by six other core members including Tsang Kin-shing, Dickson Chau, Raphael Wong, Figo Chan and Jimmy Sham.
In February, the Democratic Party, the city's largest and most popular opposition party, announced it would disband. Several senior members told Reuters they had been warned by Beijing that a failure to do so would mean serious consequences including possible arrests.
Earlier this month, China's top official on Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, stressed national security work must continue as hostile forces were still interfering in the city.
"We must clearly see that the anti-China and Hong Kong chaos elements are still ruthless and are renewing various forms of soft resistance," Xia said in a speech in Hong Kong.
The League of Social Democrats is one of Hong Kong's smaller pro-democracy groups known for its more aggressive tactics and street protests in its advocacy of universal suffrage and grassroots causes including a universal pension scheme. In a 2016 incident, Leung threw a round object at former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying inside the legislature.
Three LSD members were fined on June 12 by a magistrate for setting up a street booth where a blank black cloth was displayed and money was collected in public without official permission. Chan told reporters that the party had no assets to divest and no funds left after several of its bank accounts were shut down in 2023.
While never as popular as the more moderate Democratic Party and Civic Party, it gained three seats in a 2008 legislative election - its best showing.
The LSD's founder Leung, 69, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021 in the landmark '47 Democrats' case. He is currently serving a sentence of six years and nine months in prison. Another member, Jimmy Sham, was also jailed in the same case and released in May.
The security laws have been criticised as a tool of repression by the U.S. and Britain, but China says they have restored stability with 332 people so far arrested under these laws.
"I hope that the people of Hong Kong will continue to pay attention to the vulnerable, and they will continue to speak out for injustice," Figo Chan said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Hong Kong's security net extends beyond arrests as small businesses pressured
It's been years since mass arrests all but silenced pro-democracy activism in Hong Kong. But a crackdown on dissent in the semiautonomous Chinese city is still expanding, hitting restaurants, bookstores and other small businesses. Shops and eateries owned by people once associated with the largely subdued pro-democracy movement are feeling a tightening grip through increased official inspections, anonymous complaint letters and other regulatory checks. Those critical of the city's political changes say it's a less visible side of a push to silence dissent that began five years ago when Beijing imposed a national security law to crush challenges to its rule, under which opposition politicians were jailed and pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily was shuttered. China said the law was necessary for the city's stability following anti-government protests in 2019. In 2024, the city passed its own national security law, which has been used to jail people for actions like writing pro-independence messages on the back of bus seats and wearing a T-shirt carrying a protest slogan that authorities deemed could imply the separation of Hong Kong from China, a red line for Beijing. In recent weeks, food authorities sent letters to restaurants warning that their business licenses could be revoked if the government deems them to be endangering national security or public interest. Frequent inspections Leticia Wong, a former pro-democracy district councilor who now runs a bookstore, says her shop is frequently visited by food and hygiene inspectors, the fire department or other authorities over complaints about issues like hosting events without a license. It happens most often around June 4, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Her records show government authorities took measures against her shop some 92 times between July 2022 and June 2025, including inspecting her shop, conspicuously patrolling outside, or sending letters warning her of violations. She has been studying regulations to protect herself from accidentally breaking them. "Some areas look trivial — and they really are — but they still have the power to make you face consequences," she said. In an emailed reply to The Associated Press, the fire department said it conducted checks at Wong's business following multiple complaints this year. Wong's bookstore passed most of them but still faces enforcement action for failing to provide valid certificates for two fire extinguishers and its emergency lighting system, it said. Other small business owners described similar experiences. A bakery that put up pro-democracy decorations during the 2019 protests saw food authorities' inspections jump from quarterly to monthly over the past one to two years, mostly over labeling complaints. Its owner, who asked to remain anonymous fearing government retribution, said the frequent inspections made running the business a struggle. A restaurant owner who received the notice of the newly added terms on possible license revocation over national security violations said he doesn't know what could be considered a violation and fears one wrong move could cost his staff their jobs. He spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing potential impact on his business partners and employees. Food authorities said inspections follow the law, information and public complaints. They maintained that the new national security conditions for food business licenses were clearly defined and would not affect law-abiding operators. The Hong Kong Chief Executive's office has not immediately commented. Anonymous denunciations Others say they have lost opportunities after anonymous letters were sent to employers or business partners. Wong said an anonymous letter sent to an organization that had planned an event at her shop prompted them to cancel the booking. Separately, she lost a freelance job after a funder demanded that a social enterprise not hire her without a specific reason. Her landlord also received an anonymous letter warning them not to rent the space to her. 'I feel that this society is working very hard — that is, within the system, under the official system, working very hard to reject me, or to make my life difficult,' Wong said. Chan Kim-kam, another former district councilor, says she lost both a part-time job and a role in a play after the people she worked for were pressured. A school where she taught sociology part-time asked her to leave after it received a letter claiming that she made a student uncomfortable. The letter, which was written in the simplified Chinese characters used in mainland China but less prominently in Hong Kong, included links to news reports about her arrest under the homegrown national security law last year, though she was never charged. Meanwhile, the city's Leisure and Cultural Services Department told her drama group to replace her or lose their venue, she said. 'I think it's really such a pity. When the culture of reporting people has become so intense, it destroys the trust between people,' she said. Cultural authorities, declining to discuss specific bookings, said all their venue bookings were managed under established procedures. Rule of law in question Hong Kong leader John Lee has said the security law upholds the rule of law principle and only an extremely small portion of people were targeted. He noted 332 people have been arrested for offenses related to national security, about 66 each year on average, or 0.2% of the police's annual arrest figures. Still, he warned of persisting soft resistance, saying 'the streets are full of petty people.' Local broadcaster i-Cable News said national security guidelines would be issued to government workers. Secretary for Security Chris Tang told the broadcaster that even a cleaner should report words endangering national security, if any are found during their job. But Eric Lai, a research fellow at Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said Hong Kong is using regulatory powers to monitor and regulate dissent without checks and balances. Local courts were unable to check the powers granted to the government under the security laws, he said. It fits a common pattern among undemocratic governments like mainland China, he said. In many cases across the border, law enforcement officers frequently harass and surveil dissenters without formal charges. 'It tells the world that the so-called rule of law in Hong Kong is only a facade of rule by men,' he said. Outside a court on Jun. 12, members of the pro-democracy party League of Social Democrats protested against their convictions over street booth activities with a banner that says 'rule of law in name, silencing voices in reality.' They were fined for collecting money without a permit and displaying posters without approval. The judge said freedom of expression was not absolute and restrictions could be imposed to maintain public order. On Sunday, the party announced it had dissolved, citing immense political pressure and consideration of consequences for its members, months after the city's biggest pro-democracy party announced to move toward disbandment. Its chairperson Chan Po-ying wiped away tears at the news conference. 'In the past, the government said it focused on a small portion of people. Now, it includes various kinds of people in Hong Kong, ordinary residents,' she said.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Dalai Lama set to reveal succession plan as China watches
DHARAMSHALA, India, June 30 (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama will address a major three-day gathering of Buddhist religious figures this week ahead of his 90th birthday, as his followers wait for the Tibetan spiritual leader to share details about his succession in a move that could irk China. Beijing views the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, as a separatist and says it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama has said his successor will be born outside China and urged his followers to reject anyone chosen by Beijing. Tibetan Buddhists hold that enlightened monks are reborn to carry forward their spiritual legacy. The 14th Dalai Lama will turn 90 on Sunday and has said he would consult senior monks and others at this time to share possible clues on where his successor, a boy or a girl, could be found following his death. He has previously said he could possibly reincarnate in India, where he lives in exile near the northern Himalayan town of Dharamshala. He was identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor when he was two. Dolma Tsering Teykhang, the deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in Dharamshala, said it was important for the world to hear directly from the Dalai Lama on the issue because while China "tries to vilify him at every chance ... it is trying to frame rules and regulations on how to have the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in their hand". "China is trying to grab this institution ... for its political purpose," she said. "We want the incarnation of the Dalai Lama to be born not only for the survival of Tibet as a distinct culture, religion and nation, but also for the well-being of the whole humanity." Thupten Ngodup, Tibet's chief state oracle, said typically such discussions on the reincarnation do not take place when a monk is still alive but things are different now mainly because the "Chinese government is interfering". Beijing said in March that the Dalai Lama was a political exile who had "no right to represent the Tibetan people at all". China has said it is open to discussing his future if he recognises that Tibet and Taiwan are inalienable parts of China, a proposal the Tibetan government in exile has rejected. The religious conference this week, being held for the first time since 2019, will be attended by more than 100 Tibetan Buddhist leaders and will feature a video statement from the Dalai Lama. Hollywood star Richard Gere, a long-time follower of Tibetan Buddhism, will be among those attending, organisers have said. The Dalai Lama will attend prayers called by the Tibetan government in exile on July 5 and participate in his birthday celebrations a day later, according to a schedule shared by the organisers. He will speak at the celebrations for about half an hour. India's parliamentary affairs minister, Kiren Rijiju, and some other Indian officials are expected to attend. Tibetans have been praying for his long health, especially since knee surgery in the U.S. last year, although the Dalai Lama told Reuters in December that he could live until he was 110. The previous Dalai Lama died earlier than expected at 58. The Dalai Lama and Tibetan officials say there is a system in place for the government-in-exile to continue its political work while officers of the Dalai Lama's Gaden Phodrang Foundation search and recognise the next Dalai Lama. The current Dalai Lama set up the foundation in 2015 and its senior officers include several of his aides. Teykhang and other Tibetan officials said the Dalai Lama has been preparing his people for the day when he is gone, especially through his 2011 decision to hand his political role to a democratically elected government, ending a 368-year-old tradition of being both spiritual and temporal head of Tibetans. "Since he has come in the form of a human, we have to agree that there will be a moment when he is not with us," said Teykhang. "His Holiness has really prepared us for that day, he made us act as if he's not there."
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
The Dalai Lama, a tireless advocate for Tibet and its people
DHARAMSHALA, India, June 30 (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, has often called himself a simple monk, but for more than 60 years armed with little more than charm and conviction, he has managed to keep the cause of his people in the international spotlight. Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, fled into exile in India in 1959 with thousands of other Tibetans after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. Since then, he has advocated for a non-violent "Middle Way" to seeking autonomy and religious freedom for Tibetan people, gaining the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. He has met with scores of world leaders, while inspiring millions with his cheerful disposition and views on life such as "Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." But his popularity irks China which views him as a dangerous separatist, with one former Communist Party boss describing him as "a jackal" and having "the heart of a beast". The Dalai Lama turns 90 on Sunday, a particularly important birthday as he has flagged that he may say more about a potential successor around then. Tibetan tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated in the body of a child upon his death. In a book, "Voices for the Voiceless", published earlier this year, he said Tibetans worldwide want the institution of the Dalai Lama to continue after his death and specified that his successor would be born in the "free world", which he described as outside China. The statements were his strongest yet about the likelihood of a successor. In previous years, he has also said that his successor might be a girl and it is possible that there might be no successor at all. He has, however, stated that any successor chosen by China, which has piled pressure on foreign governments to shun him, will not be respected. The Dalai Lama was born Lhamo Dhondup in 1935 to a family of buckwheat and barley farmers in what is now the northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai. At the age of two, he was deemed by a search party to be the 14th reincarnation of Tibet's spiritual and temporal leader after identifying several of his predecessor's possessions. China took control of Tibet in 1950 in what it called "a peaceful liberation" and the teenage Dalai Lama assumed a political role shortly after, travelling to Beijing to meet Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders. Nine years later, fears that the Dalai Lama could be kidnapped fuelled a major rebellion. The subsequent crackdown by the Chinese army forced him to escape disguised as a common soldier from the palace in Lhasa where his predecessors had held absolute power. The Dalai Lama fled to India, settling in Dharamshala, a Himalayan town where he lives in a compound next to a temple ringed by green hills and snow-capped mountains. There, he opened up his government-in-exile to ordinary Tibetans with an elected parliament. Disillusioned with how little he had gained from his efforts to engage with Beijing, he announced in 1988 that he had given up on seeking full independence from China, and instead would be seeking cultural and religious autonomy within China. In 2011, the Dalai Lama announced he would relinquish his political role, handing over those responsibilities to an elected leader for the Tibetan government-in-exile. But he remains active and these days, the Dalai Lama, clad in his customary maroon and saffron robes, continues to receive a constant stream of visitors. He has had a number of health problems, including knee surgery and walks with difficulty. Despite that, he expects to live for a long time yet. "According to my dream, I may live 110 years," he told Reuters in December.
