As Beijing Tightens Its Grip, Hong Kong’s Democratic Party Dissolves Itself

The Democratic Party, once the largest pan-democratic opposition party in Hong Kong, has begun the process of dissolving itself. Dissolution of the Democratic Party marks a milestone in Beijing's efforts to shift Hong Kong's political institutions and civil society further towards illiberal rule.

On April 13, Democratic Party authorities held a preliminary vote, in which a majority of members present voted to authorize party officials to move towards dissolution.  Chinese officials had reportedly warned senior members to disband the party in advance of upcoming legislative elections.  Other political parties have taken similar steps since Beijing imposed a harsh National Security Law on Hong Kong in 2020, arrested dozens of opposition leaders, and cracked down on the media.

The decision to shutter the Democratic Party marks the end of an era for Hong Kong’s pan-democracy movement.  Starting in the 1990s, the Democratic Party had comprised a dominant, moderate position in the pan-democratic camp within the Hong Kong legislature (LegCo), which constituted a semi-democratic element of the Hong Kong political system (in which up to half of the legislative seats were filled by direct election) even after the return of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China in 1997.

But Chinese authorities became determined to tighten their grip over Hong Kong’s political and civic institutions in the wake of mass citizen protests in 2019, and the eruption of violent clashes between police and protestors that fall.  After passage of the 2020 National Security Law, Hong Kong authorities arrested dozens of pro-democracy advocates (including the former chairman of the Democratic Party) for subversion in 2021, arising from their efforts to organize unofficial primary elections to maximize the electoral chances of the pro-democracy camp in the (subsequently postponed) 2020 LegCo elections.  LegCo itself was institutionally neutered via 2021 electoral reforms (the "patriots law") that reduced the number of directly elected LegCo members and established a vetting system that allowed authorities to weed out potential candidates deemed "non-patriotic."

Dissolution of the Democratic Party is the latest example of political and civic associations disbanding themselves in the face of Beijing's tightening grip. The second-largest pro-democracy party, the Civic Party, dissolved itself in 2023. Dozens of other groups - including the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, the Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union, and Amnesty International - have done the same.