Hong Kong national security law: future of city’s localist movement hangs in balance as groups disband, activists quit or flee city
- Demosisto folds as co-founder Joshua Wong announces decision to leave party along with several associates
- Hong Kong National Front and Studentlocalism take fight abroad as they end operations in city
The Hong Kong National Front and Studentlocalism also folded, but said they would continue to operate overseas.
While details of the law have yet to be made public, the legislation targets acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.
03:03
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While their statements did not make it clear if they were leaving Hong Kong, both Wong and Law said they would defend the city until the final hour. The pair plan to run in the coming Legislative Council elections in September.
In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, Demosisto said it had immediately disbanded after it was informed of the resignations.
“Demosisto thinks it will be hard to continue its operations ... Members should continue to join the resistance in a more agile manner,” it said.
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In a short statement, Wong, 23, said he had resigned from his post as party secretary general and as a member.
“I will continue to defend my home, Hong Kong, until they silence and eliminate me from this land,” Wong wrote.
He warned that activists could be interrogated at special facilities, or be extradited to the mainland, as well as face long jail sentences.
In another statement, Chow, a 23-year-old activist who has been focusing on the Japanese lobbying front, did not make clear if she would be leaving politics altogether.
“I will not be able to take part in the work connecting [Hong Kong] with the international community in the future,” Chow wrote, adding she had “no option” but to leave the party she co-founded.
Chinese University political scientist Ma Ngok said the disbanding of Demosisto may be to protect its members, including ones that were not named in public.
“I think Demosisto perceive they are the target of suppression under the national security law,” Ma said. “They may think they are no different from Hong Kong independence advocates [to Beijing].”
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Despite the move, Ma said Wong still had “close to zero” chance of being able to run in the Legco poll, as he was the only person disqualified during last year’s district council elections.
Localist groups such as Youngspiration and Demosisto gained prominence in 2016 after successfully fielding three candidates for Legco, but soon suffered a setback after legislators – including Law – were disqualified for improper oath-taking.
Ma conceded it was too early to assess the impact on Hong Kong’s political landscape brought by the closure of localist groups.
Meanwhile, the pro-independence Hong Kong National Front said it had disbanded in the city, but some members would continue to operate from Taipei and Britain.
Former lawmaker Baggio Sixtus Leung Chung-hang, 33, said he resigned as the group’s spokesman, but told the Post on Tuesday he was not leaving the city.
“I want to tell Hongkongers that there will be people fighting on,” Leung said, adding it was difficult to tell if former members in Hong Kong could still be arrested.
Studentlocalism, another pro-independence group, also said all Hong Kong members had been dismissed and operations would be continued by supporters overseas.
Victoria Social Association, a small political coalition formed by politicians in Central and Western District, also suspended its operation.
Chow Sai-kit, the association’s chairman and a former spokesman of Youngspiration, gave enactment of the new law as a reason to pause the group’s activities, saying he was against Hong Kong independence and was willing to uphold the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.
Pro-establishment heavyweight Tam Yiu-chung, who was present when the law was passed in Beijing, refused to say if activists who had quit the groups would still be arrested for threatening national security.
“At this stage I cannot speak about details of the law,” Tam said.
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A vocal advocate for democratic reform in Hong Kong, Chan, 80, said her decision was prompted by the recent death of her daughter.
Independence advocate Wayne Chan Ka-kui, of the Hong Kong Independence Union, had also confirmed on Sunday that he had jumped bail and fled the city. He called on his peers not to give up their dreams of breaking away from China.
But opposition lawmakers, including the Democratic Party’s Ted Hui Chi-fung, said they would not be leaving.
Hui, 37, said his wife and family had urged him to go in light of the new law.
Apart from arrests, Hui cited the potential long jail sentences under the national security law as a threat to all members of the opposition.
“My family never expected that this would be what being a lawmaker entails,” Hui said. “But it is like sports, when you’re fit you should stay until the end of the match.”