Local Basic Law drafter Raymond Wu Wai-yung said the mainland legal experts had rung a 'timely warning bell' for a people going down the wrong track.
Mr Wu said the central government had given Hong Kong a free hand to deal with its affairs because it trusted Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa could handle them. But the situation had now changed, he said. 'Hong Kong people have already succeeded in striking down Mr Tung, haven't they?'
Mr Wu, who is a deputy to the National People's Congress and a member of the Basic Law Committee, said some people 'want to achieve their goal by one step only. That's why the central government, acting in good faith, gives them advice.'
Hong Kong people had received a timely reminder to stop ignoring the 'one country' principle, he said. 'Will [they] listen? I dare say they won't,' he added.
Law professor Albert Chen Hung-yee, of the Basic Law Consultative Committee, said Hong Kong people, in recent debates on constitutional reform, had neglected the role played by the central government. 'The central government not only wants to be involved in the final stage of approval, they want to get involved in the whole process,' said the University of Hong Kong academic.
To have a better chance of Beijing's support, Professor Chen said, the pro-democracy camp should reach a consensus with the pro-government camp.