HONG KONG: The democracy in Hong Kong is on the “verge of collapse” with principal opposition party, Civic Party winding up operations. Hong Kong’s pro-democracy party has lost its relevance due to the prevailing conditions, The Singapore Post reported.
Reportedly, things have started changing for all the democratic institutions ever since China imposed national security law in Hong Kong in June 2020. Civic party has joined the list of institutions who have lost their relevance in Hong Kong, as per The Singapore Post report.
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Civic Party chairman Alan Leong said that party is scheduled to wind up after operating in the city for 16 years. He made the announcement after no members filed nominations to take up positions in the executive committee.
Leong revealed that the Civic Party had received no nominations for the next executive committee and stressed that they had no other option left but to take steps to disband pending a final vote in emergency general meeting scheduled to be held in February at the earliest, as per the news report.
Civic Party, which currently has more than 300 members was one of the major anti-government groups in Hong Kong, according to the news report. Many leaders had left the party two years after the National Security Law came into effect. The Civic Party is scheduled to hold an annual general meeting on December 17. The party called an emergency meeting to pass a resolution to wind up the Civil Party Limited and find a liquidator.
Four former Civic Party lawmakers who have been charged under the national security law had called for the party to disband in an open letter in April. The letter was written by former party leaders Alvin Yeung, Jeremy Tam, Kwok Ka-ki and Lee Yue-shun, as per The Singapore Post report.
These leaders are among 47 well-known political figures who are charged with conspiracy for subversion over their involvement in unofficial legislative primary elections held in July 2020.
Founded in 2006, the Civic Party had secured seats in the Legislative Council since 2008. However, four of its members – Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok, Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung were ousted from the legislature in November 2020 for being “unpatriotic.”
Their disqualifications resulted in mass resignations by opposition legislators. Observers stressed that the Civic Party’s dissolution became “inevitable” after a series of its moves intended to disrupt Hong Kong. Its dissolution showcased that HongKongers no longer welcomed disruptive forces.
The report citing a Global Times editorial said that China’s image has been viewed as “authoritarian” and “undemocratic” as the “narrative of democracy has been monopolized by the US and the West.”
China has come up with its own concept of democracy as Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to the civic centre in Shanghai said that the “whole-process people’s democracy” is a combination of electoral democracy and consultative democracy, according to The Singapore Post report.
At the opening session of the 20th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping described “whole-process people’s democracy” is defining feature of socialist democracy. Opposition parties have been reeling from the national security law imposed by China in June 2020.
Five months after national security law came into effect, the Democratic Party’s six lawmakers had resigned, along with other opposition members to protest a decision by China’s top legislative body to disqualify four of their allies. (ANI)
Also Read: 7 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists arrested: Joshua Wong
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