China's top legislative panel has urged the Chinese government to intervene in a Hong Kong political dispute to deter people advocating for the independence of the city.

Describing the actions of the advocates a threat to national security, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress said that Beijing could not afford to remain idle in the face of challenges to its authority.

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Two pro-Hong Kong independence MPs--Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-Ching--displayed provocative anti-China sentiments during their swearing-in ceremony last month.

The pro-independence clamor has since been centered on the two, and the panel insists that their actions "posed a grave threat to national security and sovereignty."

The committee, which part of China's legislature, says that If the situation persists, it will hurt the interests of Hong Kong residents.

The statement came after discussions by the top legislative body on the interpretation of an article in Hong Kong's constitution that covers the oaths taken by legislators.

The article is known as the Basic Law.

During their swearing in, Leung and Yau altered their oaths to insert a provocative Japanese term for China.

They unfurled a flag reading "Hong Kong is not China," and vowed to defend the "Hong Kong nation."

Leung crossed his fingers while Yau used the F-word in her pledge.

Their oaths have been ruled as invalid, but attempts to have them redo the oath have been met with mayhem in the legislature's weekly sessions.

The comment from Chinese legislators indicates that Beijing intends to use its interpretation of the article to send a strong and bold message against separatism. Chinese legislators have the final say in the matter.

Leung and Yau are members of the radical Youngspiration Party.

Tagschina, Hong Kong, Sixtus Leung, Yau Wai-Ching