“As circumstances have changed, HKFS members and their allies have faced increasingly severe pressures in recent years. After careful consideration of all factors, HKFS has decided to draw a full stop today,” the group said in a statement.
“We have never been absent from major political and social events throughout the years,” HKFS added, highlighting the organisation’s role in championing social causes and advocating for reform over nearly seven decades. The decision was “very difficult and painful,” Isaac Lai, chair of the HKFS representative council, told AFP.
“Our members have all faced increasing risks and pressures. We made this decision under circumstances with no alternative, with no other choice,” Lai said. He added that several HKFS members had received threatening letters or been stalked.
In its early years, the HKFS was a pro-Beijing student group, but it shifted its stance in the 1980s to support pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong and mainland China. It was a founding member of the alliance that organised a vigil to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.
Following the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, HKFS became a key force in social movements calling for universal suffrage. Multiple college unions have also announced their dissolution in recent months, citing reasons including institutions’ refusal to recognise their status.
