A senior Chinese official told a delegation of lawyers from Hong Kong that the central government has not set a timetable for Hong Kong to pass a controversial national security law.
Chen Zuo'er, a deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, made the remarks during a meeting on Tuesday with a delegation of lawyers from Hong Kong in Beijing, pointing out that "the time for enacting the legislation is up to the Hong Kong SAR government."
Andrew Liao, executive councilor, told local media after the meeting that Chen also urged support for chief executive Tung Chee-hwa as well as help in the smooth passage of the anti-subversion law.
Chen told the delegation that the central government would continue to support Hong Kong and called for unity among its various political and civic camps.
Tung's administration scrapped some of the controversial clauses of the initial anti-subversion bill, drawn up under Article 23 of Hong Kong's post-1997 constitution.
The government was later forced to rethink the timetable for its passage after more than 500,000 Hong Kong residents marched through the streets in protest here on July 1.
Opponents of the legislation have said the bill threatens Hong Kong's political, religious and media freedoms.
On Monday, Liu Yandong, director of the United Front Work Department, told nearly 100 Hong Kong delegates at the Chinese People's Political Consulative Conference in Shenzhen that she understood "only a minority of people wanted to make trouble in Hong Kong."
She was cited by independent legislator Eric Li Ka-cheung as telling the delegation that those people who took part in the July 1 demonstration were "patriotic and loved Hong Kong."
Liu pointed out that it was "unfair to put all the blame on one person" and it was understandable for the Hong Kong government to make mistakes in the face of continuing fallout from the Asian financial crisis and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak.
The meeting in Shenzhen was seen as part of a series of attempts by the central government in Beijing to shore up support for chief executive Tung Chee-hwa's leadership.
Beijing also took steps to help Tung, with incentives that included allowing mainlanders to travel to Hong Kong individually instead of joining tour groups.