Meet One of Hong Kong’s Last Remaining Pro-Democracy Activists

When a court in Hong Kong sentenced 45 pro-democracy politicians and activists to prison sentences of up to 10 years, it took down the city’s once-vocal opposition in one fell swoop, making clear the risks of dissent.

But a handful still remain.

One of them is Chan Po-ying, the 68-year-old leader of the League of Social Democrats, a political party focused on labor and social welfare.

Hong Kong’s opposition was once a small but formidable presence. Lawmakers organized filibusters to block bills they saw as limiting freedoms. Street marches were common. Then, after anti-government protests engulfed Hong Kong in 2019, China imposed a sweeping crackdown on the city.

Ms. Chan took over as the party’s chairwoman in 2021 after the arrest of several members and leaders, including her husband, Leung Kwok-hung, a former lawmaker better known as Long Hair. Mr. Leung was among those sentenced last week.

The New York Times spoke with Ms. Chan to hear how she navigates the increasingly narrow — not to mention risky — confines of politics in today’s Hong Kong. This interview has been edited and condensed.

How did you become an activist?

I came of age during the Vietnam War protests, civil rights movement and the women’s suffrage movement, and they were big influences on me as I was growing up.