Hong Kong’s largest and oldest opposition party, the Democratic Party, has announced that it will begin the process of disintegration, a step that analysts say that the city’s supporters would mark the “end of an era” for democracy forces.
During a press conference last Thursday, Democratic Party President Lo Qin-Hei told reporters that the party established in 1994 established a three-person task force to “study” the necessary procedures to close the party. Will do it
“We have fulfilled the overall political environment in Hong Kong and all the future plans we can carry forward, and this is the decision that we do,” Hey said, the party members said, the party members are final for the last for exemption to add votes to the members of the party. Decision will be made. Lo did not specify when the vote could be done.
The Hong Kong government has not yet commented on the news of the party’s possible discovery and the authorities have not responded to the inquiry from the VOA.
In an editorial published on Monday, Chinese Communist Party-controlled media outlet Vai Po said that the Democratic Party’s plan is the result of the party’s connection to the detailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who are facing many national security charges, and Its support “vailer” protesters “during the 2019 Pro Democracy protest.
The Democratic Party, was established a few years before the end of the British colonial rule, played an important role in the infection under Hong Kong’s Chinese rule, with some early leaders, including figures like Martin Lee and Albert Ho, ” Help give shape “One country, two systems” models, there is a constitutional system that is established to give Hong Kong to high level autonomy under Chinese rule.
After Hong Kong’s handover for China in 1997, the Democratic Party became the most influential opposition force in the Legislative Council of Port City, which advocates protests and universal Suft questions on the road and the basic law, the city, embedded in the city Let’s advocate direct elections. Mini-constitution.
But in 2019, after months of anti-government protests sent to shockwaves across the city, Beijing started several steps to tighten the control over Hong, including the controversial National Security Act, or NSL, and overhall overhall The city’s electoral system required by running the Block Pro Democracy candidates running in the elections.
Felt ‘Chilling Effect’ in Hong Kong
The analyst says that the Democratic Party’s decision decided to introduce the Disco Congress Hong Kong officials to introduce an intensive current rift on Pro Democracy organizations, with many opposition political parties, searching as civic party, political pressure and reservation Decided to shut down. Operation.
Maggi Sham, a political scientist, said, “The decision of the Democratic Party was decided to start preparations for the disco at the end of good old times when the work of opposition parties was being done which could maintain an acting in the Legislative Council, service to the component Could have done, and consult the government on policies, “Maggi Sham, a political scientist said. At Pen State University in America
Additionally, he said, the crack has influenced independent bookstore, independent media and independent institutions.
“It is such that the Hong Kong government is going into a long list of Democratic institutions and is taking each of them out of the list,” Sham told the phone by the phone, saying that this trend gave this trend in Hong Kong ” Society-wide chilling effect “. ,
Hong Kong Journalist Association, or HKJA, Chief Journalism Group in the city, was forced Scrap its annual money dinner Two hotels canceled the booking this month. HKJA head, Celina Cheng, has stated that the probability of cancellation was the result of “political pressure”, the hotels were facing. Local authorities have not said anything about the issue.
moreover, Hong Kong Public Opinion Research InstituteWhich tracks public views on many types of issues in the city, announced that it would suspend all self-founding research and even to call its CEO Robert Chung for investigation by National Security Police The latter can be “closed”.
Some pro -democracy activists in Hong Kong say that the authorities have focused on their rift in groups dedicated to discovery issues in recent months.
A former Hong Kong democracy Zilla Parishad said, “The Hong Kong government has proposed legislative amendments, which will implement strict veterinarian system from foreign district associations and ban the guilty of the National Security Office from Labor Association unions.”
Emily Lau, a former president of the Democratic Party, said that the thesis trend shows that Hong Kong’s political system is far from democracy.
He said, “More than a dozen groups have been dissolved in the last two to three years and in the current environment, there is a place to operate it for pro -democracy figures or organizations,” he said Hong Kong said. Officers try to “organize” the pro-decrafts figure to “destroy”.
Beijing: ‘National Security Security’ in Hong Kong
In response to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, in response to DC, supports the efforts of Hong Kong officials to “protect national security” and urge “critics” to stuck the Governing Hong of the Central Government ” . ”
Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengu said, “Hong Kong’s economy is booming, and constitutional order is in stable operations, national security is protected and ‘Hong Kong’ has been implemented while ruling the Patriots.”
Sham in Pen State said that the people of Hong Kong may be disorient or forced to take away from politics “because the authorities are rapidly controlled by civil society and” are removing their power collective functions. Are.”
“Hong Kong is implementing the Chinese model of the regime and using every aspect of life to control,” he told the VOA.
Sham said that the people of Hong Kong can still find symbolic ways to express support for democracy.
He said, “The online censorship in Hong Kong is not as serious compared to China and there are many exile media outlet reporting on the situation in Hong Kong, which work as a channel for Hong Kong to join the outside world,” Said, “saying that” may potentially work as an anchor for people who cares for democratic value.