League of Social Democrats announces the party's disbandment
發佈日期: 2025-06-29 21:17
TVB News
The League of Social Democrats, one of the last remaining pro-democracy parties in Hong Kong, today announced its disbandment with immediate effect.
The party, founded 19 years ago, said the decision to dissolve was unanimously agreed by its members.
The League of Social Democrats announced its dissolution this afternoon.
"Our decision to dissolve ourselves is (because) we are facing a lot of political pressure," said LSD Chairwoman Chan Po-ying. "And we need to consider a lot of reasons including our comrades, friends and the consequences for them."
Chan's husband who is one of the party's co-founders, Leung Kwok-hung, also known as "Long Hair," is currently serving time in prison.
According to Chan, her husband supports the party's decision. When asked where the political pressure had come from, Chan said it's difficult for her to say but she believes there will be more political parties shutting down in future.
Established in 2006,the League of Social Democrats comprised of some 30 founding members, including lawmakers, district councillors, academics and social activists.
The party was first led by Wong Yuk-man, also known as "Mad Dog," with Leung Kwok-hung and Chan Wai-yip among the founding members.
The group won three seats in the 2008 Legislative Council election, emerging as a new political force in the city.
It positioned itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp. At one time, Wong Yuk-man interrupted then Chief Executive Donald Tsang's policy address by throwing a banana in the legislature.
In 2010, the League of Social Democrats joined forces with the Democratic Party to launch the "Five Constituencies Referendum" campaign in a bid to pressure the government to implement what they called "genuine universal suffrage" and abolish the functional constituencies.
After Wong Yuk-man and Chan Wai-Yip quit the party, Leung Kwok-hung became chairman and the only League of Social Democrats member winning a seat in the legislature.
However, he was disqualified in the oath of office controversy. After the National Security Law came into force in 2020, Leung and another member of the party, Sham Tsz-kit, were sentenced to prison in a landmark subversion trial.
The party announced that it will not take part in elections after the electoral reform, but sometimes set up street booths in Causeway Bay to express its dissatisfaction with the government's labour importation policy.
