One of the last major Hong Kong parties supporting democracy

On the wall of the Democratic Association’s office, Chinese figures for freedom are clarified with court admission vouchers.

Party members alternate to speak to a microphone connected to loudspeakers. They stand in front of a banner reading “instead of ashes of dust”, written in the Chinese language. The party was established nearly 20 years ago, known as the last protest group in Hong Kong.

“The red lines are now everywhere,” says Chan Bo Ying, party leader, to the BBC.

“Our decision was to solve because we are facing a lot of pressure.”

She added that everything in Hong Kong has become a pasture, and she was not in a position that she was allowed to go to more details to clarify the reasons.

The party is the third main opposition party to dissolve this year in Hong Kong. The group, known for its street protests, said that it made the decision after “accurate deliberations” and avoid “consequences” for its members.

The announcement of its solution just a few days before the fifth anniversary of the National Security Law imposed by Beijing. The party said it could not clarify the timing of its closure, but he said it faced “intense pressure.”

He said in a statement, “Over these 19 years, we have made difficulties for internal conflicts and the near prison of our leadership, while we witnessed civil society erosion, popular voices, the presence of red lines, and the suppression of the opposition in a statement.

The authorities said that the National Security Law is required to restore the regime after a year of violent protests often in 2019. But after five years, critics say it was used to dismantle the political opposition.

In June, a Chinese official claimed that the hostile forces are still interfering in the city.

“We must clearly see that the elements of the anti -Erennic chaos and Hong Kong are still harsh and renewed different forms of soft resistance,” said Xia Paulong in a speech.

The National Security Law criminalizes matters such as sabotage. In 2024, Hong Kong issued a local law for national security known as Article 23, criminalizing crimes such as discord and betrayal. Today, the majority of the political opposition in Hong Kong fled or detained.

“I think it is no longer safe to manage a political party. I think political rights have almost gone in Hong Kong,” Vice President Dixon Zhao told the BBC.

On June 12, three members were fined by a judiciary court to suspend a banner in a street stall while collecting money from the public without permission.

Critics say that opposition groups are facing political persecution. Zhao says that the party’s bank accounts were closed in 2023. Over the past five years, six party members have been imprisoned.

Zhao said: “A place without any useful political party, and then people sooner or later forget their strength if they can assemble together and express them in a collective manner,” said Zhao.

“If I don’t do anything, why am I here in Hong Kong?”

He said even if he was not a political active, he was afraid to find himself a police target and to pressure the authorities leave Hong Kong.

“The future is very difficult as a citizen,” Zhao said. “

“It is a dilemma that I did not expect to face in Hong Kong just because she was active,” he added.