Content Warning: discussions of mental health and suicide
Five years ago, Amnesty International predicted that Hong Kong’s National Security Law (NSL) would transform the city into a police state. These predictions have since been proven correct–on 29 June, Hong Kong’s last remaining democratic party, the League of Social Democrats (LSD), disbanded due to ‘political pressures’, further discouraging the city’s hope for a democratic future.
For former University of Melbourne student Nial, the possibility of peace and democracy was already lost a long time ago. ‘That hope has long gone. That hope has been gone probably since five years ago when the protest started … [Hong Kong has] changed completely … I don’t recognise it now,’ he says.
‘Immense Political Pressures’
Founded in 2006, the LSD was known for its democratic reform advocacy and preserving the grassroots of Hong Kong’s distinct culture. The party was previously represented in the Legislative Council and District Councils before Beijing overhauled the city’s former polling system and replaced it with the ‘patriots law’ in 2021. Beijing’s ‘patriots law’ was designed to ‘weed out non-patriots’, ensuring that only those who are loyal to the Community Party of China’s regime can serve as lawmakers or local councillors. Various political parties and civil society groups, alongside the LSD, have since terminated.
Chan Po-ying, the LSD’s former chairwoman, revealed in a statement that the party disbanded due to ‘immense political pressures’, including the imprisonment of nearly all members and internal disputes. Po-Ying stated that the party felt they had been left with no choice but to prioritise the party members’ safety.
People in Hong Kong are safe as long as they refrain from discussing sensitive topics, Nial says. ‘That’s what the government wants you to do. They just want you to be sheep. They all need [you] to be ignorant and happy and just spend your money and have a good time.’
For young Hong Kongers like Nial, the group’s disbandment was expected. ‘The last democratic party of Hong Kong had to disband. And honestly, I didn’t think anything of it. It was something that was inevitable.’
For the majority of Hong Kong’s NSL crackdown, Nial was studying overseas in Australia and regrets not being more active in public commemorations before they were banned, like the 4 June Tiananmen Square Massacre anniversary. ‘Those have been happening before I was born, and so I thought they’d always be there … and I guess even that’s gone now.’
Now, like most other Hong Kongers, Nial feels as if he has no other choice but to tolerate the situation, losing faith in the trustworthiness and reliability of news sources. ‘I don’t go out of my way to find out anything about the news, because there is not much point. It’s just going to be the same stuff. We have no more right to fight for anything. Our freedom of speech, freedom of news, freedom of gatherings, freedom to protest–all that has been taken away … We have something called “fake democracy”, where the government tries to offer a choice, but it isn’t actually a choice.’
Mental health declines in young Hong Kongers
A survey from Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service, a non-government organisation, found that one in four Hong Kong secondary school students suffered from moderate to severe depression.
Nial says that the increased suppression of Hong Kong has made him feel depressed at times. ‘The only thing I did was just try to seek comfort in like-minded people [who] understand my cause and understand what’s going on in Hong Kong. But … it is a bit hard to find mainstream help … Once you voice where your concern is coming from, the government isn’t going to help you.’
Statistics from the South China Morning Post reveal that the suicide rate in Hong Kong, particularly among men, has increased significantly over the past decade. In 2023, the suicide rate among young adults reached a 10-year high, with reportedly fewer than 1 in 10 young adults seeking help.
Nial suggests that the authorities were involved in the suicides of young dissidents. Regardless of whether this claim is true or false, he describes the dispiriting effect this idea has had on other young citizens like himself. ‘I think that was when democracy died. How are you going to fight for democracy when you’re going up against something like that? I guess that’s where everybody lost hope.’
A City That Will Never Be the Same Again
In July 2025, the Hong Kong police announced new bounties for Australian pro-democracy activists accused of committing national security offences.
In response, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong opposed this imposition. ‘Australia strongly objects to Hong Kong authorities issuing arrest warrants for pro-democracy advocates in Australia,’ Wong posted.
The courage of groups like the LSD has left a lasting impact not only on Hong Kongers but also on those outside of the city.
Asked if anybody in Hong Kong is still hopeful, Nial is strongly pessimistic but made a case for activists internationally: ‘I can tell you for sure that no one is hopeful … But there are still a lot of people fighting overseas … They can probably never come back to Hong Kong and never see their families again. But they are still fighting overseas.’