A close friend of Sir Sze-yuen Chung has urged that the Exco convenor's 80th birthday party not be held at Government House, in the wake of strong public reaction.
Allen Lee Peng-fei, Liberal Party chairman, said he would suggest finding a different venue for Sir Sze-yuen's birthday party on November 3.
Mr Lee, one of those who have been invited to the dinner hosted by Tung Chee-hwa, said he had not expected the dinner would cause such an outcry.
'To avoid making people unhappy, it's better to hold the party elsewhere,' he said.
A spokesman for Mr Tung said there was no change to the plan, adding it was a matter for Mr Tung to decide when he returned today.
A senior official said Mr Tung might not be too sensitive about things he deemed 'trivial'.
'But sometimes it causes a storm.' A group of Democrats including Tsang Kin-shing and Andrew Cheng Kar-foo yesterday protested outside the Chief Executive's Office against hosting the party at the taxpayer's expense.
