Hong Kong’s biggest pro-democracy party has received its members’ mandate to proceed with steps toward a potential disbandment, part of the erosion of political freedoms as China cracks down on dissen

The party, once the city’s largest opposition force, long championed a moderate approach. It ended up squeezed between a discontented populace and a repressive Beijing.

Five senior members of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, the city's biggest and last remaining major opposition party, say Chinese officials or middlemen have warned the parties to disband or face serious consequences,