Tung Chee-hwa, vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said on Saturday that the people of Hong Kong have wisdom, strong national awareness and patriotic feelings.

The former Hong Kong SAR chief executive's speech comes in the wake of a controversy surrounding a handful of legislators-elect. These politicians had publicly advocated for "Hong Kong independence" and insulted the Chinese nation last month.

"The pro-independence forces' attempt to separate Hong Kong from China is not only a matter of national security and territorial integrity, it also damages the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle and goes against the interests of Hong Kong citizens. 'One Country, Two Systems' and the Basic Law are the development foundation of Hong Kong. Any deviation will result in great damage. So we should stick to our foundation and prevent this small handful of pro-independence forces from damaging our region," Tung Chee-hwa said.