The mainland underscored its "resolute opposition" to any form of "Hong Kong independence" activities inside or outside of the special administrative region's (SAR) Legislative Council (LegCo), according to an official statement on Monday.

The statement, issued by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, noted that certain organizations and candidates in Hong Kong were publicly advocating for "Hong Kong independence," capitalizing on the exposure afforded to them by the LegCo election.

The statement reiterated that "Hong Kong independence" is against the Constitution of China, the Basic Law and relevant laws of the Hong Kong SAR, stressing that it is a threat to China's sovereignty and security, damages the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and runs counter to the fundamental interests of Hong Kong citizens.

"We firmly support the Hong Kong SAR government to mete out penalties according to law," the statement said.

The anti-establishment camp, including pan-democrats and localists, won 30 of the legislature's 70 seats, while the pro-establishment camp took 40 seats, down from the 43 they won in the 2012 election, according to the final election results released Monday.

But Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po pointed out that the pro-central government camp still has mainstream support. All the candidates from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and the New People's Party - two pro-establishment parties in Hong Kong - have been elected to the LegCo, while the pro-establishment camp has retained all of its "super seats" from functional constituencies, the paper noted.

Tian Feilong, an associate professor at Beijing-based Beihang University, told the Global Times on Monday that while the pro-establishment camp remains generally stable, no one expected young Hong Kong localists - the youngest of whom is just 23 years old - to win eight seats in the election after failing to win a single one four years ago.

Young localists' actions will increase the difficulty of talks between the anti-establishment camp and the central government and will also make more pan-democrats lean toward radical parties, Tian said.