Ashes Versus Dust: Another Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Party to Disband 

One of Hong Kong’s last standing opposition parties disbanded on Sunday due to “immense political pressure,” five years after Hong Kong’s national security law was passed to thwart what remained of the country’s pro-democracy movement and press freedoms, France 24 reported. 

“Over these 19 years, 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,” wrote Hong Kong’s League of Social Democrats (LSD) in a statement.  

Announcing the move at a press conference, members of the party sat in front of a banner that read, “I would rather be ashes than dust,” the Hong Kong Free Press wrote. 

The party, known as the last protest group in Hong Kong, said the fallout from the 2020 national security law was the main reason it was disbanding. Party members also cited an atmosphere of repression with officials targeting political dissent, and that numerous party members have been arrested over the past few years. 

Chan Po Ying, the chair of the party, told the BBC, “The red lines are now everywhere.”  

Officials have long said the national security law was necessary following the violent pro-democracy protests that broke out in 2019, sparked by fears of losing Hong Kong’s autonomy. However, critics say the law has been used to dismantle the political opposition. 

The LSD was founded in 2006, and while it never had many seats in the semi-autonomous Chinese city’s legislature, it was known for pushing for democratic reforms and advocating for the rights of the working class. 

The LSD is the third major Hong Kong opposition party to dissolve this year, joining the dozens of political parties, labor unions, and civil society groups that have disappeared since the security law took effect.  

The remaining pro-democracy voices in Hong Kong are in hiding or exile, fearing the reach of the national security law, observers say.  

Alongside political opponents, journalists are also self-censoring, according to a report by the Reuters Institute for Journalism.