A veteran Hong Kong delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference will be appointed to the Basic Law Committee, which advises the nation's top legislature on the mini-constitution. Lau Nai-keung confirmed yesterday that he had been notified on Sunday by the National People's Congress Standing Committee of his imminent appointment. But the move was criticised by pan-democratic lawmakers, who questioned Mr Lau's conservative, Beijing-loyalist stance. Mr Lau said mainland officials had asked him last month whether he was interested in joining the Basic Law Committee. Mr Lau, who will fill the post left vacant after Raymond Wu Wai-yung died in October, will fly to Beijing today to accept the appointment. The Standing Committee is scheduled to endorse his appointment tomorrow. Mr Lau, also a columnist, was a former member of the Basic Law Consultative Committee and has served as a CPPCC delegate since 1988. In 2004, he proposed relaunching the enactment of national security legislation to create an environment conducive to a faster pace for democracy. He said it was still too early to give detailed plans. After taking up the post, he plans to meet judges from the Court of Final Appeal, legal experts, and leaders of the Bar Association and Law Society. The Basic Law Committee has 12 members - six from the mainland and six from Hong Kong - appointed for a five-year term. Democratic Party legislator Martin Lee Chu-ming, a former Basic Law drafter, said he was disappointed with Mr Lau's appointment. 'Why does Beijing not appoint a lawyer to the post instead?' Mr Lee said. 'How much does Mr Lau know about the law?' Civic Party legislator Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee said Mr Lau's Beijing-loyalist stance was well-known, and she called on the Basic Law Committee to improve its transparency.
