Analysis: Hong Kong League of Social Democrats Disbands Amid Increasing Pressure

TaiwanPlus News

Hong Kong's last active pro-democracy political party, the League of Social Democrats, has disbanded amid increasing pressure from Hong Kong. Founded in 2006, the party once filled a political void following initial protests against the original National Security Law. Now, former Hong Kong District Councilor Michael Mo shares that the party has faced increasing threats and pressure as police intimidation increases in the city.

Transcript

00:00Hong Kong's last major pro-democracy party is disbanding.

00:05The group cited heavy political pressure in the city where democracy movements have been stifled by national security laws.

00:11Tiffany Wong reports.

00:22A farewell for Hong Kong's last active major pro-democracy party.

00:26The chair of the League of Social Democrats announces the end of a key symbol of Hong Kong's democracy movement,

00:33the latest to be shuttered due to China's increasing control of the city.

00:38Struggling forward through hardships for the last few years, we have now reached the end of the road.

00:44The path ahead is fraught with difficulties.

00:46As an organization, the League of Social Democrats must bow out from the stage of Hong Kong's social movement history.

00:52The League is the third major opposition party to shut down in Hong Kong in the past two years.

00:59Pro-democracy activity in the city has been stifled since the national security law was imposed by Beijing in 2020

01:05after large-scale anti-government protests.

01:08Those rules were expanded last year, spurring fears for the safety of party members.

01:13Universal separation now!

01:15No! No! No!

01:16The League of Social Democrats was founded by Chan's husband, former lawmaker Leng Kwok Heng, in 2006.

01:24The party was known for its radical pro-democracy views and aggressive tactics.

01:28Last year, Leng was sentenced to almost seven years in prison

01:31as part of a trial of 47 pro-democracy advocates under national security law charges.

01:37As the party officially disbands, the prospect of democracy in Hong Kong dims.

01:43Scott Huang and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.

01:46For more on what's happened in the five years under the national security law

01:50and the League of Social Democrats disbanding,

01:53Alec MacDonald spoke to Michael Mo, a former district councillor in Hong Kong.

01:58Michael, can you talk a little bit about the importance of the Social Democrats

02:01and what this party meant to Hong Kongers?

02:04So the League of Social Democrats is launched back in 2006.

02:09It was the time which the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement shortly after they launched a half a million turnout

02:21of a large-scale protest against the Article 23, the very first national security law legislation.

02:30And their positioning is also unique, pretty much filling up the political spectrum that is actually vacant back in that time,

02:40namely economically left, radical street actions, and also a legal front to challenge draconian laws

02:51that is being left out by the British and being picked up by Beijing to harass or intimidate any democracy campaigners back in that time.

03:03So why have the Social Democrats decided to disband 19 years after their founding?

03:09I think one of the reasons is that they are still one of the few pro-democracy parties,

03:17which is of course being ousted from any form of participation in politics in Hong Kong,

03:25are still demonstrating on the streets, whether it is like a few people having street fundraising stores

03:35or having a petition at the government headquarters, they're still looking defiant.

03:41Having said that, it also caught the attention of the Hong Kong authorities

03:47and pro-Beijing pretty much informers' eyes and informed them.

03:56And I think this is one of the reasons they have been notified that some of the speech

04:01in the recent years in those like street canvassing or outside of the government headquarters

04:09were actually touched or crossed the so-called red line

04:14and then facing these immense pressures from the Hong Kong authorities.

04:20I think this is why they pretty much disband at this point of time.

04:28In light of many of the pro-democracy parties in Hong Kong disbanding,

04:32can you reflect a little bit upon the national security law five years on?

04:36So since the national security law enacted in 2020 effectively bypassed the city's legislature,

04:47the Hong Kong authorities pretty much used the power that pretty much being authorised to,

04:56whether one was said is illegal or not,

05:00to harass, intimidate, arrest, prosecute, democracy, campaigners, lawmakers all over the place.

05:10And also, so in the first few years,

05:16we've seen that the Hong Kong authorities really ran after the high-profile activists

05:26and also those who were for democracy, district councillors as well, myself included.

05:34So during the first few years, we've seen over 75 political parties, civil society groups,

05:45media, including Apple Daily and labour unions disbanded or ordered to be disbanded.

05:53So it is, it's really been a very dire scene ever since.

06:00What lessons are there in this for Taiwan?

06:02So I think to the world, not only Taiwan,

06:07it shows that if, and once if,

06:11the Beijing took over a sovereignty of a certain place,

06:18they would go wherever they like to make the,

06:23make a firm grip on this place.

06:26And there's no respect of whatever rough law,

06:31democracy, freedoms,

06:33all the things that they guaranteed before they took over this,

06:38before they take over the sovereignty.

06:40So I think it's particularly profound lesson to Taiwan is that

06:44whatever Beijing promised to them,

06:50it seems they would pretty much default it by default.

06:58That was former Hong Kong district councillor Michael Mo.

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