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Six months and counting: Demosisto party still waiting for a reply on its registration

Localist group cannot open a bank account until it gets approval from the Companies Registry, which normally processes applications within days

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Agnes Chow Ting, deputy secretary general of Demosisto, wants the Companies Registry to make a decision now and either approve or reject the application. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

The Companies Registry is under fire for holding up the application of the youth-led Demosisto political party for almost six months without offering an explanation.

Demosisto deputy secretary general Agnes Chow Ting told the Post that the application to register as a company was submitted in late March but they were still waiting for a reply. The group cannot set up a bank account to raise money until it secures the approval.

Solicitor Daniel Wong Kwok-tung called the delay “unacceptable” and said decisions on even complicated applications would normally be made within a month.

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Joshua Wong, one of the founders of Demosisto. Photo: Sam Tsang
Joshua Wong, one of the founders of Demosisto. Photo: Sam Tsang
The nascent localist group was founded by newly elected legislator Nathan Law Kwun-chung and former student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung.

The registry’s website states that limited companies will normally be incorporated within four working days.

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“The Companies Registry cannot just keep the matter in abeyance forever,” Daniel Wong said.

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