← The Dispatch
Statement on the Forced Disbandment of the League of Social Democrats

Statement on the Forced Disbandment of the League of Social Democrats

Location
Tokyo
Date
1 July 2025

1 July 2025

Lady Liberty Hong Kong expresses profound sorrow and indignation at the forced disbandment of the League of Social Democrats (LSD), one of the last remaining pro-democracy political forces in Hong Kong. This marks not only the end of an organization, but the silencing of a spirit that has fearlessly defended the people of Hong Kong for nearly two decades.

Since its founding in 2006, the League of Social Democrats has been the most consistent, persistent, and unwavering voice of opposition in Hong Kong. More than just a political party, LSD embodied a philosophy of civic responsibility rooted in justice, equality, and resistance to authoritarianism. Their presence expanded the spectrum of civic expression and opposition, offering a critical counterbalance to institutional power and inspiring a new generation of young people to stand up for their beliefs.

LSD never confined democracy to voting booths or legislative chambers. Through their actions — whether in the streets, in communities, or in the legislature — they demonstrated that democracy lives in everyday resistance, public assembly, and solidarity with the marginalized. Despite being grounded in strong ideological convictions, they never detached from the needs and struggles of grassroots Hongkongers. They listened, represented, and stood with the people — especially when it was politically costly to do so.

Even after the enactment of the National Security Law and the imprisonment of many of their core members, LSD continued to organize street booths and public petitions. Their refusal to disappear into silence, even under grave threat, is a testament to their honor, courage, and defiance.

Their forced dissolution is not merely a legal or administrative act. It is a targeted political purge, part of a systematic campaign to crush all forms of dissent in Hong Kong. It is a stark reminder that the freedoms of speech, assembly, and association — guaranteed by the Basic Law and promised under the Sino-British Joint Declaration — no longer hold meaning under the current regime.

We at Lady Liberty Hong Kong call on:

  1. The Hong Kong diaspora community to inherit LSD's spirit of defiance, imagination, and persistence, and to continue building platforms where truth and dissent can survive in exile.
  2. The international community to unequivocally condemn the Hong Kong government's crackdown on fundamental freedoms, and to offer platforms where the voices of genuine Hongkongers can still be heard.

The legacy of the League of Social Democrats will not end with their disbandment. It lives on in every act of resistance that refuses to forget what Hong Kong once stood for — and what it still could be.