Hong Kong: A major opposition party Demosisto announces its dissolution after the passage of the security law

Demosisto, formed by former pro-democratic student leaders, reported the cessation of their activities due to the risk of the Chinese advance. The former secretary general asked: “If my voice is no longer heard soon, I hope that the international community will continue to raise it for Hong Kong”

The Hong Kong Demosisto political party , founded by pro-democracy militants, announced its self-dissolution on Tuesday after the adoption by the Chinese parliament of the controversial national security law in the semi-autonomous territory.

“At the end of numerous internal deliberations, we have decided to dissolve and cease all activity as a group under the circumstances,” Demosisto said on Twitter.

Before the dissolution was reported, several prominent Hong Kong activists had reported their resignation from the party upon ratification of the controversial law. “ A fateful destiny is presented to us, personal hardships are unpredictable and we have to face it with courage . I announce my resignation as general secretary of Demosisto and my departure from Demosisto. I will carry out my protest in a personal capacity, ”said prominent activist Joshua Wong through his account on Facebook.

Similar messages published through their profiles on social networks Nathan Law and Agnes Chow, founding members of that political organization who also announced that they were leaving it.

Wong considered that, under this new legislation, ” concern for life and (personal) safety is no longer nonsense .” However, in his resignation message, he also opined that ” neither the national security law nor any other evil law will freeze Hong Kong’s will, ” and considered that the massive pro-democratic protests launched a year ago against the extradition bill. “They have awakened countless people.”

For his part, Law indicated that ” the political personalities will be more dangerous and it is difficult to predict their safety “, although he asserted that “the struggle of the Hong Kong people will not cease and will continue with constant resistance.”

In a gloomier tone, he added: ” If my voice is no longer heard soon, I hope that the international community will continue to raise it for Hong Kong and take concrete steps to defend our last piece of freedom.”

Demosisto had announced his intention to present candidates for the legislative elections next September, although those responsible have so far been vetoed from running for office in the city for his defense of “self-determination” in the former British colony .

Other pro-independence groups like the Hong Kong National Front also announced that they will reduce their presence in the city and operate from abroad.

Demosisto was a political organization founded in 2016 by Wong, Chow and Law, student leaders who played a key role in the so-called ‘Umbrella Revolution’ , the pro-democratic protests that Hong Kong lived through for almost 80 days in 2014.

For the moment, the text of the security law has not been made public, and the head of the Hong Kong Executive, Carrie Lam, indicated at a press conference that “it would be inappropriate” to answer questions about its content until it is officially ratified.

Organizations defending human rights have expressed their opposition to the legal text, which according to sources cited by the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post could carry penalties of up to life in prison for “acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and conspiracy with foreign forces to put in national security is at risk. ”

“At this key moment for Hong Kong, it is imperative that the national security law is not used to trample on human rights and undermine the freedoms that differentiate the city from mainland China,” Amnesty International said today in a statement from press.

The 1984 Sino-British Declaration, which articulated Hong Kong’s retrocession from British to Chinese hands in 1997 – which marks 23 years on Wednesday – established the maintenance for at least 50 years from that date of a series of unimaginable freedoms in territory in mainland China.

(With information from AFP and EFE)