HONG KONG — Hong Kong's biggest pro-democracy party on Sunday received its members' mandate to proceed with steps toward a potential disbandment, part of the erosion of political freedoms as China cracks down on dissent in the southern city.
Democratic Party Chairman Lo Kin-hei said over 90% of the members who took part in the vote supported the motion to let the central committee take up the procedure toward disbandment. He said he hopes there will be a final vote in the coming months.
''Unless there is a big change, I believe this inclination will be maintained in the next general meeting,'' he said, adding that the party would continue with its work until then. The process might not finish this year, said vice chair Mok Kin-shing.
The party's decision reflects the dwindling semi-autonomy and freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China's rule in 1997. The moderate political party has effectively become a pressure group, members say.
Lo earlier said the decision was made based on the current political situation and social climate. Party veterans told The Associated Press that some members were warned of consequences if the party didn't shut down.
Massive anti-government protests in 2019 led China to impose a sweeping national security law that was used to prosecute many leading activists. Some of the party's former lawmakers are now in prison, and the party has been absent from elections after authorities overhauled the electoral system to ensure only ''patriots'' can run.
The Democratic Party, founded in 1994, is one of the few remaining pro-democracy groups that still speak out from time to time following the closure of dozens of civil society groups under the shadow of the security law. They include the city's once second-largest pro-democracy party and a decades-old group that organized the annual vigil to commemorate Beijing's Tiananmen crackdown in 1989.
The party had long positioned itself as a moderate pro-democracy force. Some of its former members joined the government as senior officials. Its willingness to negotiate with Beijing led to its proposal being included in a 2010 political reform package — a move that drew harsh criticism from some members and other democracy advocates who wanted more sweeping changes.
