Under intense pressure from China in recent months, Hong Kong's last pro-democracy political party disbanded before July 1

The League of Social Democrats will hold a press conference on Sunday (29th) to announce the dissolution of the League of Social Democrats

The 19-year-old League of Social Democrats (LSD) has confirmed it will hold a press conference on Sunday (29th) to announce its dissolution, marking the end of Hong Kong's last remaining pan-democratic political party. This station has learned that the LSD has been warned three times this year by messengers that it must disband before July 1st or face serious consequences.

Following the Democratic Party's dissolution two months ago, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) issued a notice to the media on Friday (27th), confirming that it would hold a press conference on Sunday (29th) to announce the dissolution of the SDP. They stated, "Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the SDP. However, if we fail to survive this day, we will declare our dissolution."

Sources revealed to our reporter that the League of Social Democrats (LSD) has been warned three times by messengers since April this year that the party must disband before July 1st, or face the serious consequence of being "forced to disband." However, the current LSD chairperson, Chan Po-ying, previously stated that she would not comment for now. She further stated on Friday that she would not respond to each individual question before the meeting.

The source also said that after the dissolution of the League of Social Democrats, there are no truly independent non-governmental organizations left in Hong Kong's civil society. It is believed that the last organization to be targeted is the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

League of Social Democrats: "Without resistance, there can be no change"

The League of Social Democrats (LSD) was founded in 2006, with the slogan "Without resistance, there can be no change." In the 2008 Legislative Council elections, the LSD won three seats, with Wong Yuk-man, Leung Kwok-hung, and Chan Wai-yip elected to the Legislative Council, making it the third-largest pro-democracy party. The LSD spearheaded efforts to change parliamentary culture, including a protest against then-Chief Executive Donald Tsang within the Legislative Council. This provocative approach to parliamentary protests earned the LSD a reputation as a "radical democrat." Outside of parliament, the LSD has also initiated and participated in numerous demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience.

In 2009, the League of Social Democrats and the Civic Party proposed a "mass resignation in five districts and a disguised referendum" to return to the Legislative Council through resignation and by-election to express public support for universal suffrage. The League of Social Democrats' three parliamentary leaders Leung Kwok-hung, Wong Yuk-man, and Chan Wai-yip, and the Civic Party's Leong Ka-kit and Chan Po-ying all participated, and finally five of them successfully returned to the Legislative Council in the 2010 by-election.

The League of Social Democrats filibustered during the Budget

During the 2011 District Council elections, the League of Social Democrats (LSD) launched a "Vote Debt, Vote Repayment" campaign, targeting the Democratic Party (DPK), which had previously worked for the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and facilitated the 2012 political reform proposal. Subsequently, due to differences in policy, Wong Yuk-man and Chan Wai-yip resigned from the LSD and formed People Power, with Leung Kwok-hung subsequently taking over as LSD chairman. The LSD won only one seat in the 2012 and 2016 Legislative Council elections, and repeatedly engaged in filibustering with People Power during Legislative Council meetings, including during bill deliberations and the Budget.

However, in 2016, Leung Kwok-hung's qualifications as a legislator were revoked by the Department of Justice after he held a yellow umbrella while taking the oath and tore up a card with the "NPC 831 Resolution" written on it. Since then, the number of seats of the Social Democratic Party in the Legislative Council has been reduced to zero, but the Social Democratic Party is still active in civil disobedience and petition actions.

69-year-old "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung remains in prison

Several members of the League of Social Democrats have been jailed for "civil disobedience," and 69-year-old "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung remains imprisoned for the 47-person case in the pro-democracy primary election. Sham Chi-kit, vice-chairman of the League of Social Democrats, who was also a defendant in the 47-person case, was released from prison last month after serving his sentence.

While other pro-democracy parties, such as the Democratic Party and the Civic Party, have disbanded, the League of Social Democrats (LSD) has continued to stage petitions and street stalls during the National Security Law era, focusing on issues such as the importation of foreign workers and the minimum wage. They even planned to hold a petition outside government headquarters on the day of this year's budget announcement, but ultimately canceled the initiative due to "intense pressure." Two years ago, the bank accounts of the LSD and some of its members were closed or suspended, and several members and volunteers were charged with "unlicensed fundraising in a public place" and "unauthorized display of bills or posters." If the LSD were to disband, it would mean the end of the last remaining pan-democratic political party in Hong Kong.

On Wednesday (25th), the founding chairman of the League of Social Democrats, Wong Yuk-man, emphasized on his online radio station that the League of Social Democrats' contribution to social movements cannot be erased, but he will not feel sorry for its dissolution because there is "nothing more to do".