Two radical Hong Kong lawmakers who support the semiautonomous territory’s independence from China have been banned from serving in the local legislature after Beijing stepped in to issue a rare interpretation of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s constitution. It is Beijing’s most severe infringement on Hong Kong’s autonomy since the United Kingdom returned the colony to Chinese rule in 1997. The interpretation that came Monday was to-the-point, saying: “Anyone who intentionally reads an oath inconsistent with the legally prescribed oath, or takes their oath in any untruthful and unserious way also constitutes a refusal to take the oath,” it read.