HK Democratic Party to Discuss Possible Disbandment

Lo says the party will discuss its future on Thursday

Once the largest voice in the opposition camp, the space for the Democratic Party to operate in Hong Kong has shrunk to the point where its members are now discussing whether it should disband or not.

The party's chairman Lo Kin-hei announced the group's central committee would hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss a wide range of issues, including the future of the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party was founded in 1994

While Lo said this conversation was "inevitable", it still needed to be discussed.

"Of course, we should consult all of our members before we can actually come to that conclusion," he said.

Since electoral reforms in the last few years have resulted in only patriots being eligible to govern the city, the future of the Democratic Party has been questioned, as it has had no representation in the Legislative Council since 2021.

And now it has come to the point where the party needs to decide its next steps.

"At this point in time, I don't think I can talk anymore about this issue," Lo said, though he stopped short of saying whether the party was facing pressure to disband.

"But if the day has come for the party to disband, we have to accept it."

Alan Leong of the Civic Party, which disbanded

Hong Kong's Civic Party, which was once considered the second-largest opposition party in the city, disbanded in 2023 after 17 years.

In recent days, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (Pori) announced it would suspend all self-funded research activities indefinitely after its CEO Robert Chung was questioned by the national security police for a second time about possible links with the former deputy CEO Chung Kim-wah, who was added onto the wanted list of Hongkongers for allegedly violating the national security law.

"We see a lot of different groups and parties dissolving... So every time any kind of group disbands or they discontinue, we will have that kind of discussion for a bit," Lo said.

When asked if he thought the government was trying to marginalise the party, Lo said it would be best if the government would allow different parties to express a diversity of opinions.

"I also believe that this diversity in opinions is what made Hong Kong very nice in the past... And I hope that the government can try to be more open," Lo said.

Forewarning of John Lee's Reign

Lam met with Lee today before holding joint press conference

Today incumbent Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor met with her successor John Lee Ka-chiu and then they held a joint press conference, but no questions were allowed to be asked.

He made a statement saying he will work on developing Hong Kong's economy, but how if the border to the mainland remains pretty much shut, and the city's own quarantine regulations have deterred airlines from resuming their flights at Hong Kong International Airport.

How Lee is going to rejuvenate the city's economy remains a complete mystery as he only mentioned it in his platform with no detailed plans, and no other candidates running against him to challenge him.

Chung says Beijing has picked incapable leader

Perhaps even worse is that Hong Kong's next leader is not really qualified to even lead the city, according to Chung Kim-wah, the former deputy head of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute. 

"Lee has no experience in all the most important policy areas, such as economy, finance and foreign trade, or fields such as social welfare, housing, education, healthcare and labour. He has only been a cop," Chung said. "My fear is that under his rule, things will go wrong in every aspect of Hong Kong.

"Choosing Lee has chief executive shows Beijing doesn't mind picking a completely incapable person to do nothing but carry out its will," Chung added.

Ouch.

This morning's pro-Beijing newspapers harped on how Lee garnered 99 percent of the vote (not hard when you're the only candidate), but also it he was he who vetted every person in the almost 1,500-member Election Committee.

Ads praising Lee as the next HK leader

The same papers also had pages and pages of advertisements congratulating Lee on becoming the next Chief Executive. Some of the companies included Cathay Pacific, Swire, Jardine Matheson, KPMG, Deloitte, and PwC. Surely it was perhaps the best day in the past two years for the newspapers' advertising departments.

Another devastating assessment is from Chris Fraser, the former chair of the philosophy department at the University of Hong Kong. He described the election as "merely an elaborate public confirmation ceremony for a preordained appointee."

"To the millions who marched in the streets in 2019, the whole charade is little more than another waste of taxpayer money on a pointless ceremony demonstrating that the Hong Kong government will never be accountable to its own citizens," said Fraser, who is now at the University of Toronto.

All eyes are on Lee, who has given the appearance of jumping straight into work, with already an office and staff.