The 19-year-old umbrella organisation, which in the past had counted numerous political parties as members, has been a significant presence or organiser of protests in Hong Kong. For successive years it ran the annual 1 July protests, until authorities began to systematically deny permission to it and other rallies, citing the coronavirus.
“In the course of over a year, the government continuously used the pandemic as a reason to reject the demonstration applications of CHRF and other groups – each member group was oppressed, and civil society was facing unprecedented challenges,” CHRF said in a statement reported by local media.
