Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa backs Beijing

Hong Kong papers have greeted Beijing's plans to revise the territory's constitution with a mixture of foreboding and calls for calm.

Beijing-backed dailies take to task the demonstrators who protested at the moves, currently being debated by the Chinese parliament. Independent papers warn of further encroachments on Hong Kong democracy.

"Avoid emotionalising the National People's Congress interpretation of the Basic Law at all costs," advises Beijing-backed Ta Kung Pao.

Referring to attempts by "a minority" of protesters to break into the grounds of government headquarters, the paper says: "These were emotionalised performances."

A columnist in the same paper says such "disturbances" must be severely condemned.

"A minority whose mood was so agitated and whose behaviour was so dissolute were completely misled and provoked by the 'democrat faction' politicians."

Calm

The same point is made in another pro-Beijing paper, Wen Wei Po.

"Discussions on the interpretation of the Basic Law should be calm," it says. "Charging government premises must be condemned."

The paper says Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law and "any differing opinions should be expressed through legitimate channels".

But Singtao Daily, also pro-Beijing, takes a softer approach, suggesting that violent protests can be counter-productive.

We are worried that the situation could deteriorate further Ming Pao daily

"If views are expressed through extreme actions, this could easily be misread by the central government, and will be more of a hindrance than a help for constitutional development," the paper advises.

An even more conciliatory tone is represented by a commentary in the Beijing-run China Daily.

"The interpretation of the Basic Law will be good for Hong Kong and good for the territory's stability," says Tsang Hin-chi, a member of the Chinese parliament's Standing Committee.

"The content of the interpretation should be mild and be in line with the wishes of Hong Kong people," he adds.

Tense

Other papers, however, are worried at the prospect of a constitutional review.

"Oppose the National People's Congress (NPC) interpretation of the Basic Law!", urges a headline in the pro-Democracy Apple Daily.

"Last night thousands of residents lit candles. What these lit candles were mourning was... the NPC's unjustified interpretation of the Basic Law and the thwarting of Hong Kong's steps towards democracy," the paper says.

It adds that while Beijing has "never paid any attention to these lit candles... we had to light them to express our opposition".

This is a view shared by the relatively independent-minded Ming Pao.

"We are worried that the situation could deteriorate further after the NPC interpretation of the Basic Law," it says.

"It will also make the relations between the special administrative region and the central government increasingly tense."

Writing in the independent South China Morning Post, Hong Kong commentator Frank Ching warns that Beijing's attempts to "slow if not halt" the development of democracy have strengthened Taiwan's rejection of "one country, two systems".

"They may even cause people in Hong Kong to have second thoughts about it as well," he writes.

"But, perhaps, Beijing no longer cares what people in Hong Kong think, considering that the city has already served its purpose of contributing to China's economic development and is no longer of much value," the author adds.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.