The newly elected leader of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, Lo Kin-hei, is fully aware that he risks going to jail amid the continuing crackdown on the city’s democratic politicians, he said in an interview on Monday.

Lo said he is mentally prepared to go to jail and to suffer through the city’s dark times with other Hongkongers.

Lo, 36, became the youngest chairperson in the party’s history after winning an internal election on Sunday. During an interview with Apple Daily, Lo said one of his tasks now is to help his party members cope with the pressures created by authorities’ unprecedented suppression

“Now is the time when you speak out for Hong Kong, when you try to make a difference, you will risk becoming a target of the regime,” Lo said.

The stakes have become increasingly high for Lo and the others who fight for freedom and democracy, as evident in the jail sentences for unlawful assembly – described by many observers as overly severe – imposed recently on three young democractic leaders, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam.

Lo is facing a charge of unlawful assembly stemming from anti-extradition bill protests near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University last November.

Lo said he was mentally prepared for a jail sentence in the worst case. His fellow party members believe the oppression of democratic politicians would only continue to worsen, he said.

“I believe that in the coming 10 years, Hong Kong will resemble Taiwan during martial law and Poland in the times of the Soviet Union,” he said. Lo added that he hopes Hongkongers can stand united, enduring the darkest times together.

Lo, who is also the chairperson of the Southern District Council, said his party would study ways to respond more quickly to public expectations, to keep up with the rapid pace of change in Hong Kong.

Lo plans to encourage his party members to brainstorm ideas in the days to come, he said: “I will involve all of us in discussion.”

Previous Democratic Party leaders normally ran for a seat in Legislative Council elections. But Lo believes the chance of a pro-democracy presence in the chamber is getting slim, given Beijing’s postponement of the November poll by one year and its move to disqualify some democratic politicians. But even so, he and his party would try their utmost, he said.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play