The Chairman of the Civic Party Alan Leong announced Saturday the pro-democracy party will disband. Leong said that since there was no valid nomination for a new chairman and no one else to take over leadership, the party would not be able to continue. Leong also referenced a Civic Party member meeting in which 30 out of the 31 members voted in favor of a resolution to disband the party.

The Civic Party is best known for being one of the few remaining pro-democracy parties in Hong Kong politics. Originally founded in 2006, their party platform centered around the promotion of both democracy and social justice. Since the controversial national security law was passed in 2020, however, multiple members of the Civic Party have been charged with “subversion.” Civic party members were accused of organizing and participating in an unofficial primary election July 2020.

In recent years, China has tightened control over Hong Kong, especially political opposition. In March, protesters gathered for the first protest since the introduction of the national security law in Hong Kong. Hong Kong authorities limited the protest to a maximum of 100 participants, whose banners and placards were screened before the demonstration. A cordon separated media from the protestors, who were also required to wear numbered lanyards as they chanted their slogans in opposition to the land reclamation plan.