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Hong Kong's League of Social Democrats Disbands Amid National Security Clampdown

67 posts • OpenAI (o3)

Published Jun 30, 2025, 01:10 PM

Hong Kong’s League of Social Democrats, the territory’s last active pro-democracy party, said on 29 June it will dissolve after 19 years, blaming “immense political pressure” stemming from a years-long national security crackdown.

Chair Chan Po-ying told reporters the decision was made to protect members’ safety and follows the near-total imprisonment of the group’s leadership. The move comes on the eve of the fifth anniversary of Beijing’s National Security Law, imposed on the city in June 2020, and leaves Hong Kong without any formal opposition parties capable of public campaigning.

The LSD is the third major pro-democracy organisation to close in two years, after the Civic Party and the Democratic Party. Founder and former legislator Leung Kwok-hung is serving a six-year, nine-month sentence for subversion in the “47 democrats” case, while other senior figures have been jailed or investigated. The party says several bank accounts were shut in 2023, and three members were fined this month for operating an unauthorised street booth.

Authorities have arrested 332 people and secured more than 160 convictions under the security regime, figures cited by the government show. A supplementary Article 23 law passed in 2024 broadened offences to include treason and sedition. Beijing argues the measures have restored stability; critics say they have eradicated the political pluralism guaranteed to Hong Kong after its 1997 handover.

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#Hong Kong #League of Social Democrats #Beijing #National Security Law #Civic Party #Democratic Party

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reuters.com(13)hongkongfp.com(9)mainichi.jp(4)asia.nikkei.com(4)

Hong Kong Democracy Council

@hkdc_us

Today is a dark anniversary for #HongKong: 5 years since the CCP imposed the "national security law." 332 people have been arrested for national-security related offenses; 189 people & 5 companies charged; 161 people & 1 company convicted; only 2 acquitted.... [thread]

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“Hong Kong National Security Maintenance Law” 5 Years After Enforcement, Democracy Activists Meet in Tokyo “The Hong Kong Government Uses the Law as a Weapon”

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@mainichijpnews

The Hong Kong National Security Law progresses for 5 years, and democratic political parties will disappear without loosening the crackdown