More than 2,000 years ago, the famous Chinese poet and patriot Qu Yuan said that 'in the crowd of the drunk, I am the only one who stays sober'.
The expression summarised Qu's disappointment at the Chu State, but his honest opinions led to him being fired by the emperor.
Putting Qu's expression in the modern context, perhaps members of the Preparatory Committee legal sub-group are sharing his sentiments in their endeavour to reinstate outdated human rights legislation, the only difference is that instead of being fired by the emperor, they appear to have been given tacit approval from Beijing.
The legal sub-group insisted there were flaws in the human rights laws and therefore recommended key provisions in the Bill of Rights Ordinance should be repealed and the original versions of the Societies Ordinance and the Public Order Ordinance reinstated.
Chief Executive-designate Tung Chee-hwa defended the legal sub-group's proposals and said there were people who tried to mislead the public.
In a veiled criticism against Financial Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who held reservations about changing the laws, Mr Tung even said that it was 'important that people in responsible positions should not mislead the business community or others'.
But apart from saying others were wrong, Mr Tung and his Preparatory Committee colleagues offered little concrete evidence to support their case.