Expatriates are likely to be shut out of the Preparatory Committee consultations because of the language barrier.
It is understood the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers has excluded two senior expatriate members from consultations on the Selection Committee.
Since the two have no knowledge of Chinese, the institution has decided to send two other locals, in addition to the chairman, to the consultation.
The institution, with a membership of 15,000, is the largest professional body of the territory's nine major professions.
Fei Fih, deputy director of the Hong Kong office of the Preparatory Committee's Secretariat, however, said: 'There is no such policy of discouraging expatriates from participating in the consultation exercise.' She said the Preparatory Committee had invited a wide spectrum of organisations, including chambers of commerce from different countries, to attend the consultation sessions.
But she confirmed the languages used would mainly be Putonghua and Cantonese. To bridge the language gap, the Preparatory Committee's Secretariat would arrange interpreters.
