Public could be confused over Leung's policy committees

Committees set up by Leung Chun-ying to study policy issues could cause confusion over whether top officials or committee members are calling the shots in the areas under scrutiny, the government's former top adviser has warned.

Professor Lau Siu-kai, former head of the Central Policy Unit, said the formation of more than a dozen special committees spoke volumes about the resistance to the embattled chief executive's initiatives within the government and the community.

"Judging from my previous experience in the government, Leung would have pressed ahead with those initiatives if there was no resistance," Lau said.

Leung announced in his policy address last week the establishment of 16 committees to study the feasibility of his proposals. Their tasks include standard working hours, free kindergarten education and the development of traditional Chinese medicine.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Lau said Leung's strategy was to drum up support for his initiatives from committee members he appointed in an attempt to overcome opposition within the government.

"But I'm worried that civil servants may face huge difficulties in equipping those committees with research capacity," he said.