SENIOR Chinese official Lu Ping has intervened to stop three mainland academics from taking part in a conference on Sino-Hong Kong relations, according to sources.
Mr Lu was said to have lobbied against their participation on grounds it would be ''political sensitive''.
He argued that the participants included Szeto Wah who was branded by China as subversive, and that the organisers, Future China Society, included some prominent 1989 democracy activists.
Tong Dalin, Wu Mingyu and Zheng Zhongbing were scheduled to have taken part in the two-day seminar entitled ''Hong Kong and Greater China'' beginning tomorrow.
Sources said the trio had received permission from their work units to attend the conference. Two had been issued visas from the US Embassy.
''But after Lu Ping knew about it he immediately lobbied the top leadership against their participation.