‘Winter has arrived’: Civil society groups in Hong Kong are forced to disband amid growing crackdown

Before it was disbanded, several leading figures from the Civil Human Rights Front have been detained under charges related to their past activism, writes William Yang

A 2019 protest against the extradition bill, organised by the Civil Human Right Front in Hong Kong (AP)

After days of difficult contemplation, the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), the umbrella group behind most of the major demonstrations in Hong Kong over the past two decades, announced on Sunday that it had decided to disband as it could no longer operate as Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s civil society increases.

“In the past year, the government has continued to use the epidemic as an excuse to reject demonstrations’ applications from the CHRF and other groups,” the CHRF said in a statement. “Member groups have been suppressed, and civil society has faced unprecedented severe challenges.”

Prior to its disbandment on Sunday, the CHRF has been facing growing pressure from the Hong Kong government after several of its leading figures, including former conveners Figo Chan and Jimmy Sham, have been detained under charges related to their activism in the past.