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.

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       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.

       A ticket to a court hearing where Mr. Leung and other activists were sentenced, and a T-shirt belonging to Ms. Chan. Billy H.C. Kwok for The New York Times

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