HONG KONG: Members of Hong Kong´s Democratic Party voted on Sunday to move forward with plans to dissolve the party as its leaders first proposed in February, the party´s chair said.
The party is the latest Hong Kong civil society group to meet its end amid a years-long political crackdown, with scores of activists arrested, jailed or in exile. The vote “means most of our members are willing to allow the Central Committee to take steps to dissolve the party”, said Lo Kin-hei, chair of the 30-year-old party that was once the city´s stalwart opposition force.
“This is not the final decision that the party is dissolving,” Lo told a news conference. “In the coming few months, I hope there will be another general meeting (where) we actually will get that motion into debate and vote.”
Lo declined to comment on media reports that Beijing is exerting pressure on the group via middlemen to shut down the party before December´s legislative elections. More than 90 percent of the 110 or so attendees supported the motion to let party leaders deal with the procedures required for dissolution, such as accounting requirements. The liquidation of the party, which is registered as a Hong Kong company, may not be completed within the year, said vice-chair Mok Kin-shing.