Hong Kong's Democratic Party said late on Thursday it would start preparations to disband and wind up its affairs after a meeting of its leadership, amid a years-long national security crackdown in the China-ruled city.

A 30-year-old Hong Kong political party that used to lead the city's pro-democracy camp before Beijing cracked down on dissent will start preparations to shut down, its leader said Thursday. "We are going to proceed and study on the process and procedure that is needed for the disbanding,

Party will establish task force to arrange for 400 members to vote on whether to break up and handle legal procedures involved in liquidation.