Former security chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee has tried to assure people that there is no devil in the details of her blueprint for universal suffrage. Yet, the extra hurdle she has proposed for chief executive hopefuls before they can run in an election is hardly an angelic idea in the eyes of those pushing for democracy.
Mrs Ip is contesting December's Legislative Council by-election. Her proposal would see each chief executive candidate having to gain the support of at least 10 per cent of members in each of the four sectors - that is, business, professional, grass roots and political - in the nominating committee. But critics believe this could easily become a tool to bar candidates deemed unacceptable to Beijing.
Their fears are not unfounded, judging by the experiences of Alan Leong Kah-kit in the chief executive election in April and Anson Chan Fang On-sang, who is also standing in the Legco by-election.
Although Mr Leong managed to meet the nomination threshold by securing 132 nominations from the 800-member nominating committee, none came from the 200-member business sector. Mrs Chan has suffered the same fate: there is a marked absence of prominent names from the business circle on her list of nominees.
Speculation is rife that the central government's liaison office has lobbied business leaders not to lend their support - in both nomination and financial terms - to Mrs Chan.
In response to Mrs Ip's constitutional reform proposals last week, Mrs Chan warned of 'devils in the details', and criticised the package as a retrogressive step.