China warned foreign powers against interfering in Hong Kong and using China's special administrative region (SAR) as a foothold to destabilize the mainland, officials said. The statement came just before Sunday's meeting on limiting the 2017 elections to pro-Beijing candidates.

A spokesman for the Department of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Affairs handling foreign affairs said on Friday that "some people" colluded with outsiders to meddle with the SAR government.

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He also believed that the move was to weaken Hong Kong's stability and development and use it as a foothold to infiltrate the mainland.

By doing this, they disregarded Hong Kong's long-term interests and the Basic Law that governs China's SAR. "This will absolutely not be tolerated," he said.

He added that China would automatically assume authority to deal with external forces perceived to interfere in Hong Kong's internal affairs, state-run Xinhua reported.

The spokesman may not have identified who these outsiders are, but experts know one country they are talking about.

For instance, an American envoy Clifford Hart visited Hong Kong in 2013 and expressed fostering ties with the country. He said that United States would continue supporting "genuine universal suffrage" there.

China reacted negatively to this, citing Hart's move as insurgent.

Song Zhe, China's Hong Kong-based Foreign Ministry representative, forbade Hart from interfering with Hong Kong.

Experts interpret this strong reaction as anxiety towards Sunday's meeting.

In the meeting, China's parliament is expected to limit Hong Kong's 2017 presidential election to few pro-government candidates.

Reports said pro-democracy demonstrators planned to blockade Hong Kong's Central business district as protest.

Since last year, there had been intense debates over how Hong Kong should choose its leader in 2017, prompting concerns from the international community and Hong Kong democrats who prefer a universal suffrage.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under the "one country, two systems" principle. Though it enjoys a wider autonomy, China maintains that it has sovereignty over it.

TagsHong Kong, US, special administrative region, SAR, Clifford Hart, Song Zhe, Department of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Affairs