There have been talks within the Democratic Party about disbandment, chairman Lo Kin-hei confirmed Wednesday, as he announced that the central committee will discuss the pro-democracy party’s future in a meeting tomorrow.
This comes amid reports that the over three-decade-old party is preparing to disband.
In a press conference where he announced budget suggestions, Lo said that the Democratic Party has been diligently advocating for the people of Hong Kong.
“I understand there might be doubts about why the central committee is once again deliberating the party’s direction after changing terms, but we will have to wait until the committee meets before making any announcements,” he said.
“Disbandment is a discussion we cannot avoid. There will be no restrictions on the topics discussed in the meeting, and the party will adhere to its memorandum in making any decisions,” he added.
Lo also said that the party had been scheduled to meet with technical officials from the office of Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po to submit suggestions for the upcoming budget, which will be announced next Wednesday.
However, this meeting was canceled on Saturday due to ad hoc scheduling conflicts.
In response to the cancellation, Lo said:, “We have not arranged to meet with government officials for the Policy Address or budget suggestions since 2019; therefore, we did not have any expectations at first.
“We were shocked to be scheduled for a meeting, and I have no comment on its cancellation.” According to the Democratic Party’s memorandum, the party’s assets cannot be divided among members if it is wound up.
Instead, those assets may only be given or transferred to institutions with similar objectives or to charitable organizations.
The party has previously revealed that it holds only one property, Hanley House in Prince Edward, as its headquarters, and its number of employees has dwindled to single digits.
(Michael Shum)
