The State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Thursday branded the rejection of the proposal by 24 pro-democrat legislators as out of line with mainstream public opinion.

"The HKSAR government and Hong Kong public, as well as the central government, don't want to to see a result not in line with mainstream public opinion," an office spokesman said.

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"We ... appreciate the efforts the SAR government has made to promote the development of Hong Kong's political system."

Polls released before the vote indicated that more people were for the package than against it, but a strong majority called for the introduction of a timetable for universal suffrage.

That is something both the central and SAR governments have rejected for the time being, and which was one of the democratic camp's main sticking points, motivating it to vote down the proposal.

In failing to garner the needed two- thirds support of the 60-member Legislative Council, the defeat stung the SAR and central governments, which were hoping the mild reform package might alleviate some of the pressure building up in the pro-democracy movement.

The office, which is run by the mainland's Cabinet, also reiterated that the central government will continue to support the development of democracy in Hong Kong "in line with the Basic Law."

The spokesman said: "We hope sincerely that all Hong Kong people will find a suitable road leading to the development of Hong Kong democracy with a reasonable and realistic attitude and sense of responsibility for history."

He cited Wang Zhenmin, a senior researcher of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Research Institute and one of the so-called "Basic Law guardians," saying the veto of the motion will halt Hong Kong's political development for at least seven years because " it is not easy to draft a reform package that takes care of the interests of all sectors."

For their part, the democratic camp contended that any fault laid on their doorstep is misplaced and that for the betterment of Hong Kong, both sides need to move on.

Veteran democrat Martin Lee - who along with the territory's Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Zen was singled out by Chief Secretary Rafael Hui early Thursday as the cause of the political stalemate - said he can understand Hui's "frustration."

But, Lee said, "I hope this kind of personal attack will soon fade out," and " I hope he can understand we can still cooperate."

Fellow pro-democracy legislator Ronny Tong warned that harsh words will not help political development.

"I don't think the accusation will help in bridging our differences and reaching a consensus," said Tong, also a target of Hui's early morning attack for, what the chief secretary charged, was the misleading proclamation that future political developments can be resolved by local legislation.

Tsang Hin-chi, a local delegate to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, in Beijing Thursday laid into the pro-democracy camp, saying the motion's rejection showed who were "the genuine democracy lovers in Hong Kong."

He said: "From the results, I believe the local public will understand who are the ones who really love democracy in Hong Kong, who are the ones who really hope for democratic development and who are the ones obstructing our political development.

"It will now be up to the Hong Kong public and history to comment on it."

He added that he will raise the issue of democratic development in Hong Kong at the NPCSC meeting tomorrow.