Shrinking Space for Democratic Party to Celebrate

The Democratic Party's low-key banquet finally held

The Democratic Party, one of Hong Kong's remaining opposition parties, finally managed to hold a banquet to celebrate its 30th anniversary after several restaurants made last-minute cancellations over the past two years.

However this one was not without some drama, as halfway through the festivities around 8.30pm, some uniformed police officers arrived, saying they had received a complaint.

They later left without making any arrests.

Such is the situation the Democratic Party faces these days, not being able to hold a party without some kind of interruption.

In previous instances, host venues suddenly cancelled at the last minute, which former Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing says it's a pity there are so many challenges in holding a dinner with its members.

"There are many restaurants actually hoping to take our order, but were forced to drop it for various reasons," she said.

In previous years, the party held banquets on a much larger scale, but the obstacles its faces now demonstrate the shrinking political space the Democratic Party operates in.

For instance someone pretended to be a representative of the party and cancelled their booking, while another restaurant refused to serve them, claiming they had not paid a deposit, which Lau said the party was not asked for one.

Another restaurant even claimed the party could not be served because two of its chefs were "fighting".

How creative.

In previous years, hours before the banquet was supposed to be held, the restaurant claimed it was having issues with gas for the stove, while another year during the pandemic, a venue claimed it was closed for cleaning, but it was open the day before and the day after.

Nevertheless, former Democratic Party chairman Yeung Sum said it insisted on maintaining its presence in Hong Kong to defend various rights and freedoms. He also reiterated the party's support for the "one country, two systems" governing principle.

Wonder how next year's party will go down... if they can still hold it...