The Social Democrats Federation, which has been established for 19 years, announced today (27th) that they will declare dissolution and will hold a press conference this Sunday to explain. The Social Democrats Federation stated that next year marks its 20th anniversary, but “unable to survive until that day, it will announce dissolution”.
According to a report by “Sing Tao Daily” on Tuesday (25th), since the beginning of this year, the Social Democrats Federation has received separate messages from different “spokespersons”, demanding that they cease operations by July 1. Some individuals even suggested that the party had financial issues and might have violated the law. It was also mentioned that certain members had crossed the line when expressing demands in the past, leading to legal risks.
The article mentioned that the Social Democrats Federation had previously discussed internally, evaluated the situation, and planned to officially announce the start of the dissolution process on Sunday (29th) to meet the deadline of July 1. It also quoted a member of the Social Democrats Federation as saying that recently, many organizations such as the Democratic Party and the China Labor Bulletin have been dissolving one after another, more or less psychologically prepared to take this step; he expressed helplessness towards the current political atmosphere, “there is nothing we can do about the situation”.
Founded in 2006, the Social Democrats Federation described themselves as a “clear opposition party”. In the 2008 Legislative Council elections, Leung Kwok-hung, Wong Yuk-man and Albert Chan were successfully elected. During the delivery of the “Policy Address” in October of the same year, Wong Yuk-man threw a banana at then-Chief Executive Donald Tsang in protest. In 2009, the Social Democrats Federation initiated the “Five Districts Resignation Referendum”.
After nearly 5 years of establishment, internal conflicts arose within the Social Democrats Federation. Wong Yuk-man and Albert Chan led over a hundred members to form the “Power for the People” in 2011. Leung Kwok-hung was successfully re-elected in 2016, but his disqualification as a legislator due to the oath-taking controversy led to the Social Democrats Federation losing its seat in the Legislative Council.
According to the Social Democrats Federation’s constitution, a two-thirds quorum of members present at the general meeting can decide on dissolution. As for the remaining assets, they will be donated to non-profit organizations in Hong Kong approved by the general meeting of members.