The pro-democracy outfit has dissolved itself amid pressure from China. The CHRF has been in operation for almost two decades, famously setting up the annual July 1 protests.
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The Hong Kong group of activists that galvanized protesters amid months of political upheaval in 2019 is disbanding, the group said Sunday.
The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), which was established in 2002 with an aim of giving a platform to different organizations to promote the development of human rights in Hong Kong, said it could no longer operate. Its end marks another blow for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.
The decision comes as the group faces a police investigation for possible violation of a national security law, according to local media.
The legislation introduced in 2020 makes it easier to punish protesters and reduces the Hong Kong's autonomy.
Hong Kong and China's persecuted artists
Hong Kong artists expressing pro-democracy views are having their creativity clipped like some mainland peers. Here is a list of those targeted by Beijing.
Image: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/picture alliance
Self-described 'cultural fireman'
Kacey Wong left Hong Kong for Taiwan recently, citing lack of space for artistic expression. Famous for his political performance art, the Cornell-educated artist has targeted issues like the Tiananmen Massacre or Chinese censorship. Here he is seen doing his 2018 performance piece, "The Patriot," playing the Chinese national anthem on an accordion inside a red cage.
Image: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP
A song about choice
A strong supporter of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, Anthony Wong (left) had performed a song entitled "A forbidden fruit per day" at a 2018 by-election campaign. "This song is about choice, whether society has a choice," he'd said. Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has now charged the singer with "corrupt conduct."
Image: Alvin Chan/SOPA/Zuma/picture alliance
Tyranny can't trump creativity
Cantopop singer, actress and pro-democracy activist Denise Ho remains blacklisted for joining Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement. During a 2019 TED Talk, she said tyranny can't trump creativity. "Whether it is the protest on the streets that is taking a new fluidity, or the way that people reinvent themselves, the system needs time to counter it to find solutions."
Image: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
A peace prize while imprisoned
The late Liu Xiaobo was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China" while serving his fourth prison term. The Chinese writer, literary critic, human rights activist, and philosopher was arrested numerous times, and has been described as China's most prominent dissident and its most famous political prisoner.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
Art as a tool for freedom
Contemporary artist and political dissident Ai Weiwei was jailed in 2011 purportedly for tax evasion. He was released after 81 days and this diorama is a chilling account of his incarceration. Ai is clear about the purpose of his art: "If my art has any meaning, it is as a tool for freedom. If I see people victimized by authoritarianism, I am a soldier in defending their freedom."
Image: Federico Gambarini/dpa/picture alliance
When truth becomes taboo
Filmmaker and author Zhou Qing has paid a high price for writing about taboo topics. In a 2011 interview, he said, "In China, possession of the truth has brought people endless grief. A normal citizen who knows the truth and speaks it might lose his or her family or job. A writer who reveals truth courts the danger of imprisonment. An official who insists on truth might lose his or her life."
Image: Ai Weiwei/Zhou Qing
Using pop culture to pan propaganda
Born and raised in Shanghai, Badiucao is a renowned Chinese political cartoonist, artist and rights activist who moved to Australia to study in 2009, and has lived there since. He adopted this pen-name to protect his identity. He makes political statements by mashing satire and pop culture with typical images from Communist Party propaganda. President Xi Jinping is a recurrent subject of his.
Image: Libor Sojka/Ctk/dpa/picture alliance
From hero to zero
Initially feted by Chinese state media as "the pride of China" for her Best Director win at the 2021 Golden Globes, Beijing-born Chloe Zhao's Oscar win later went largely ignored, with social media mentions of it being scrubbed. It is speculated that her 2013 interview with Filmmaker Magazine, in which she described as China "a place where there are lies everywhere" was the reason for the snub.
Image: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/picture alliance
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Who are the CHRF and what does this mean for Hong Kong?
The CHRF is the largest protest organization to disband in Hong Kong amid a sweeping crackdown from Beijing on dissent.
The group's decision casts a shadow over the future of the July 1 protest that, since 2003, has marked the 1997 handover of the former British colony to China. The annual protest organized by the CHRF traditionally sees thousands of people taking to the streets to vent their frustration over anything from rocketing house prices to government dissatisfaction.
But it was the anti-extradition bill protest on June 16, 2019, that propelled the group to another level, breaking the record for Hong Kong's largest ever demonstration with nearly two million participants.
Former CHRF leaders Figo Chan and Jimmy Sham are currently serving prison sentence on charges related to their activism.
"Although the Civil Human Rights Front no longer exists today, we believe that different groups will continue to stick to their ideals, who will not forget their original intentions, and continue to prop up civil society," the group said in a statement.
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Alleged crimes 'not wiped out'
The CHRF's decision to disband will not absolve the group from its alleged wrongdoing, authorities said Sunday.
Police in April accused the group of breaching the Societies Ordinance and asked it to submit information regarding its finances and activities.
"The police reiterated that for crimes committed by an organization and its members, the criminal responsibility will not be wiped out due to the disbandment or resignation of the members," police said in a statement, adding they will continue to pursue any organization or person for violations of the Hong Kong National Security Law.
Dwindling democracy
In recent years, China has been turning the screw on the semi-autonomous region; The national security law, which outlaws secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion, has been used to arrest more than 100 pro-democracy figures.
The closure of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and this week's disbanding of the Professional Teachers' Union, provide further evidence of dwindling levels of democracy in the region.