Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy activists, has disbanded his party after China’s top legislative body passed a national security law for the territory.
Tam Yiu-chung, a member of China’s rubber-stamp legislature, said full details of the law would only be released once the meeting closed on Tuesday.
But in a sign that the law is already having a chilling effect on local politics, the pro-democracy opposition party Demosisto announced it would disband.
“[We] believe that it will be difficult to continue operating under the current circumstances, feel deeply the need to disband, and that everyone should use more flexible methods to continue the resistance,” Demosisto wrote on social media.
Core members of Demosisto, including Mr Wong, Nathan Law and Agnes Chow, quit the group on Tuesday morning.
Mr Wong said the law would endanger the personal safety of those who engage in democratic resistance in Hong Kong and he would continue the fight “in his own capacity”.
A former student leader and the public face of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Umbrella Movement, Mr Wong has already been arrested several times for participating in unauthorised protests.
Guidance previously provided by the Beijing government, which rushed the bill through its parliament in record time, has led to concerns the measure will threaten the territory’s high level of autonomy.
Beijing inserted the law into Hong Kong’s legal code without releasing a draft for local consultation or running it through the city’s legislature.
The legislation was introduced after the territory was rocked by anti-government protests last year that Beijing said were inspired by foreign forces.
Critics argue the legislation will violate freedoms granted to Hong Kong on its handover to China in 1997. They say it will undermine the rule of law in the city that has helped underpin its success as an international financial centre.
The law is expected to criminalise acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and “collusion” with foreign forces.
