On Tuesday, the HKMAO again singled out the Civic Party’s Dennis Kwok, who currently presides over meetings of the Legislative Council’s House Committee.

Both offices on Monday of last week blasted Kwok for allowing pan-democratic filibustering to prevent the election of a new committee chairman, something that has tied up numerous pieces of legislation since October.

This time, however, the language was even stronger.

A spokesman for the HKMAO said Kwok was paralysing the committee in a bid to block a controversial national anthem bill from being put to a final vote, something the lawmaker has publicly confirmed, saying it was tantamount to denying “the use of national symbols in Hong Kong”.

“Does [Kwok] truly agree with the ‘one country’ principle? [Does he] truly support the Basic Law and have loyalty to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region?” the spokesman asked.

The Beijing-based office said there was solid evidence Kwok was guilty of misconduct in public office, and could also be in violation of his oath as stated in Article 104 of the Basic Law.

“The Oaths and Declarations Ordinance also states that anyone who refuses or ignores the oath must leave the office,” the office said.

“These provisions have unequivocally shown that if members of the Legislative Council violate an oath, they must bear the corresponding legal responsibility.”

In 2016, a number of democrat lawmakers who won seats were ousted for chanting slogans or displaying pro-independence banners while taking their oath of office. Their dismissals came after the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, Beijing’s top legislative body, said improper oath-taking was grounds for dismissal under Article 104.

In its second statement on Tuesday, the HKMAO again dismissed charges of “interference” and continued to build the central government’s case for its role in city affairs.

The spokesman said while Beijing did not intervene in affairs Hong Kong administered on its own “in general”, it had a duty to “rectify” situations when the fundamental interests of the country and city were harmed.

“How can the central government turn a blind eye to this serious incident? The solemn warning by agencies responsible for handling Hong Kong affairs reflected the central government’s exercise of its overall jurisdiction,” the office said.

The office also responded to the intensifying row over the roles of the agencies by saying those who believed the work of the liaison office was confined by Article 22 of the Basic Law, which guarantees non-interference, had failed to “consider its unique status”.

The liaison office, a spokesman argued, had every right to oversee important matters in the city, despite not being specifically mentioned in the city’s mini-constitution.

Speaking to the press with other pan-democrat lawmakers on Tuesday afternoon, Kwok said Beijing’s intent to disqualify him as a lawmaker in the near future was clearly written on the wall.

“If I am disqualified for safeguarding the rule of law and freedom on behalf of Hong Kong people, that would be a glory for me and my colleagues,” Kwok said, insisting he had no intention of changing his current tactics on the committee.

“If opposing the national anthem law in accordance with [Legislative Council rules] is equivalent to breaching the ‘one country principle’, the Legislative Council will become China’s National People’s Congress.”

Political analyst Johnny Lau Yui-siu, commenting on the recent raft of central government statements, said the public attacks on pan-democrats signalled the kick-off of a Beijing propaganda campaign designed to boost pro-establishment lawmakers ahead of September’s Legco elections.

“They want to give eligible voters the perception that pan-democrats have been paralysing society. They will continue to speak up frequently in these few months,” he predicted.

But he also suggested the increasingly hardline approach might only serve to arouse discontent with the government’s failure to safeguard the city’s autonomy.

Lau added that Beijing’s decision to comment on the months-long Legco deadlock rather than other domestic affairs was not only to warn Kwok but also to give pause to potential pro-democracy candidates.

“The message is that Beijing will not hesitate to disqualify candidates deemed to be not abiding to the ‘one country, two systems’ principles,” he said.

A final HKMAO statement on Tuesday, meanwhile, saw the office echo the stance of Beijing’s foreign affairs office in the city by expressing support for the recent arrest of 15 pro-democracy figures involved in anti-government demonstrations. Statements condemning the arrests by governments abroad represented “gross interference” in China’s internal affairs, it said.