Explainer: Hong Kong’s Democratic Party through the years – from its founding to looming end

Hong Kong’s Democratic Party said on Thursday that it would begin steps to disband, citing the political situation.

The party, the city’s largest opposition group, marked its 30th anniversary last year. It counts some of the city’s most well-known opposition figures among its ranks – including its co-founder Martin Lee, nicknamed the “Father of Democracy.”

“We can sustain the party’s survival for a while if we only look at our account book,” said party chair Lo Kin-hei on Thursday night. “But all in all, I think that is a decision that we made… we consider the overall political environment in Hong Kong and all those future plans that we can foresee.”

Since Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong in 2020, dozens of political and civil society groups have dissolved. The pro-democracy Civic Party, then the city’s second-largest opposition party in the Legislative Council (LegCo), officially folded in March 2024.

The Democratic Party, seen as a moderate liberal party with less radical views than its localist counterparts, used to have regular meetings with government officials and maintained a significant representation in LegCo.

But its influence has dimmed in recent years. While the government used to consult the Democratic Party among other political parties for policy planning, it has been years since it has done so.

The Democratic Party currently counts around 400 people among its members, down from around 1,000 in “around 2008 or 2009,” Lo told HKFP on Friday.

The proposal to disband will now go to a vote among members. The party will dissolve if at least 75 per cent of members present vote in favour.

Ahead of that, HKFP looks back at the Democratic Party over the years, its key figures, and where some of the former lawmakers are today.

What is the Democratic Party?

The Democratic Party was founded in 1994, at the time when the British colony was facing uncertainty ahead of its 1997 return to mainland China. The political party was a merger of two opposition groups, United Democrats of Hong Kong and Meeting Point.

Along with other opposition groups, the party advocated for the city’s democratisation, calling for the legislature and the chief executive to be elected by the public in post-Handover Hong Kong – instead of elite voters who mostly had pro-Beijing views.

A third political party, then-lawmaker Emily Lau’s The Frontier, merged with the Democratic Party in 2008.

What is the Democratic Party’s political stance?

The party’s manifesto states that it is “necessary to speed up the development of a democratic system of government to strengthen the protection of freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.”

The manifesto also states at the outset that Hong Kong is an “indivisible part of China” and that the party supports the return of Hong Kong’s sovereignty to China.

What about its stance on other social issues?

The Democratic Party has no consensus on policies concerning same-sex marriage, but most lawmakers have been known to support the equal rights of same-sex couples.

In a LegCo meeting in 2018 about whether the government should consider enacting policies for same-sex couples to enter into a legal union, all but one of the Democratic Party’s lawmakers who spoke were in favour.

In a motion moved by a pro-Beijing lawmaker in 2016 calling on the government to “combat ‘bogus refugees'” and set up holding centres for asylum seekers, all Democratic Party members voted against.

What factional rivalries did the Democratic Party see in its earlier years?

The Democratic Party was not without its infighting.

After the Handover in 1997, a rift emerged between two camps in the party: the “mainstreamers” and the “Young Turks.” The former was led by veteran democrats like Yeung Sum and Lee Wing-tat, while the latter – known for more radical views – were led by activists including Tsang Kin-shing, known as “the Bull,” and Andrew To.

The two camps differed on issues such as minimum wage, with the Young Turks advocating a more pro-labour position that advocated for a minimum wage policy. The Young Turks accused the mainstreamers of not sharing their power, and some like Tsang and To left the party and founded the League of Social Democrats in 2006.

Who are some of the key figures in the Democratic Party?

Martin Lee, known as the “Father of Democracy,” is one of the party’s key figures. A barrister and founder of the United Democrats, he was a founding member, and the first chairperson, of the Democratic Party.

Szeto Wah, a teacher who also co-founded the United Democrats and the Democratic Party, remained in activism until he lost his cancer battle in 2011. Both Lee and Szeto were lawmakers.

Also among its key figures is Albert Ho, who chaired the party from 2006 to 2012. A former lawmaker, he ran in the chief executive election in 2012 as the party’s first member to run in the small-circle leadership race. Competing against two pro-Beijing candidates, he finished last.

Ho is currently held in custody awaiting a national security trial linked to his role in the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Democratic Movements of China, the Tiananmen vigil organiser group that he also led.

Lau, founder and convenor of The Frontier, joined the Democratic Party in 2008 and became its chairperson from 2012 to 2016.

She is one of the party’s few leading figures who still make public appearances and comments on politics.

She has been seen attending national security court hearings and also hosts a YouTube talk show called “ChatDP with Emily Lau,” interviewing activists and government advisers, among others.

How has the Democratic Party performed in LegCo elections?

During the first LegCo elections in 1995 after the party’s formation, the Democratic Party emerged as the largest party, seizing 19 out of the 60 seats.

A dozen of those were in the geographical constituencies, in which the public has a vote. The term, however, lasted less than two years as Beijing installed an interim legislature after the 1997 Handover, which the Democratic Party criticised as undemocratic and boycotted.

The city held its first post-Handover elections in 1998. Despite internal friction, the Democratic Party as the largest opposition party still won a significant number of seats in the LegCo geographical constituencies. It won nine out of the 20 seats in the geographical constituencies, more than any other party.

In 2000, the Democratic Party got nine publicly elected seats. In both 2004 and 2008, it got seven.

However, the party’s performance suffered in the 2012 elections amid the rise of newer opposition groups.

That year, the Democratic Party lost its title as the opposition party with the most publicly elected seats for the first time. The Civic Party won five seats, one more than the Democratic Party. The Labour Party and People Power, a localist party, each took three publicly elected seats.

See also: Explainer: Hong Kong’s Election Committee determines who leads the city – what is it and how does it work?

In the 2016 elections, the Democratic Party and the Civic Party tied for seats.

The Democratic Party did not run in the 2021 LegCo elections, the city’s first polls after a “patriots only” electoral overhaul.

It no longer has any representatives in the Legislative Council or on the District Council.

Where are the ex-Democratic Party lawmakers today?

The Democratic Party had seven members in the legislature between 2016 and 2020, the last legislative term before the “patriots only” electoral overhaul: Ted Hui, Helena Wong, Wu Chi-wai, Andrew Wan, Lam Cheuk-ting, James To and Roy Kwong.

Besides Hui, who left the city in late 2020, all of them were arrested under the national security law in 2021 over their participation in the legislative primaries. These were held by the democratic camp to decide who best to run in the 2020 elections before they were postponed due to Covid-19.

Wong, Wu, Wan and Lam are serving jail time after they were convicted last year. To and Kwong were not charged. Both of them appear to have retired from politics, although Kwong continues to make commentary videos on YouTube about current affairs.

How is the Democratic Party’s relationship with the government?

During a press conference about suggestions for the upcoming annual budget address on Wednesday, Lo, the party chairperson, said the last time they were invited to meet with officials to discuss the budget or policy address was 2019.

Asked by HKFP how the party’s relationship with the government had changed over the years, Lo said: “I can’t say there is really some sort of relationship, because there is no face-to-face discussion with them… this is difficult and I think, I truly hope the government can be more open to different groups of people.”