Hong Kong's biggest pro-democracy party gets mandate to move closer to disbandment

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's biggest pro-democracy party on Sunday received its members' mandate to proceed with steps toward a potential disbandment, part of the erosion of political freedoms as China cracks down on dissent in the southern city.

Democratic Party Chairman Lo Kin-hei said over 90% of the members who took part in the vote supported the motion to let the central committee take up the procedure toward disbandment. He said he hopes there will be a final vote in the coming months.

“Unless there is a big change, I believe this inclination will be maintained in the next general meeting,” he said, adding that the party would continue with its work until then. The process might not finish this year, said vice chair Mok Kin-shing.

The party’s decision reflects the dwindling semi-autonomy and freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China’s rule in 1997. The moderate political party has effectively become a pressure group, members say.

Lo earlier said the decision was made based on the current political situation and social climate. Party veterans told The Associated Press that some members were warned of consequences if the party didn't shut down.

Massive anti-government protests in 2019 led China to impose a sweeping national security law that was used to prosecute many leading activists. Some of the party's former lawmakers are now in prison, and the party has been absent from elections after authorities overhauled the electoral system to ensure only “patriots” can run.

The Democratic Party, founded in 1994, is one of the few remaining pro-democracy groups that still speak out from time to time following the closure of dozens of civil society groups under the shadow of the security law. They include the city’s once second-largest pro-democracy party and a decades-old group that organized the annual vigil to commemorate Beijing’s Tiananmen crackdown in 1989.

The party had long positioned itself as a moderate pro-democracy force. Some of its former members joined the government as senior officials. Its willingness to negotiate with Beijing led to its proposal being included in a 2010 political reform package — a move that drew harsh criticism from some members and other democracy advocates who wanted more sweeping changes.

Prominent party members include Martin Lee, nicknamed the city’s “father of democracy,” Albert Ho, former leader of the group that organized Tiananmen vigils, and journalist-turned-activist Emily Lau.

Lau and former lawmaker Fred Li were among the members who attended Sunday's meeting. Lo said about 110 members voted in person or through proxies.

Former chairman Yeung Sum said it was a pity that the party was preparing to disband. He said he believed the “one country, two systems” is the most viable system for the city under Beijing's rule. Hong Kong's open society and pluralistic culture under the relative democratic political system is beneficial to the future of the local community and China's economic development, he said.

He believes Hong Kongers who tasted an open political system and the rule of law would not give it up.

“The political culture and the fight for democracy will carry on in Hong Kong in a peaceful and relational manner,” he said.

Lo Kin-hei, left, chairman of Hong Kong's Democratic Party and Mok Kin-shing, vice chairman, pose for photographs at a press conference at the office of Hong Kong's Democratic Party in Hong Kong on Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Lo Kin-hei, center, chairman of Hong Kong's Democratic Party and Mok Kin-shing, center right, vice chairman, arrive at a press conference at the office of Hong Kong's Democratic Party in Hong Kong on Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Lo Kin-hei, chairman of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, poses for photographs at a press conference at the office of Hong Kong's Democratic Party in Hong Kong on Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Lo Kin-hei, left, chairman of Hong Kong's Democratic Party and Mok Kin-shing, vice chairman, pose for photographs at a press conference at the office of Hong Kong's Democratic Party in Hong Kong on Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Lo Kin-hei, chairman of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, speaks at a press conference at the office of Hong Kong's Democratic Party in Hong Kong on Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Emily Lau, former chairperson of the Democratic Party, closes the door to the Democratic Party's office in Prince Edward in Hong Kong on April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/May James)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)