The Beijing-friendly Federation of Trade Unions has received HK$400,000 from the government to run a six-month free legal consultation service for Hongkongers living in Guangdong.
But a critic says the funding should have gone through a tendering process.
Peter Leung Pak-yan, director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong, said as it was a trial project, tendering was unnecessary.
Speaking at the launch of the joint programme yesterday, Mr Leung described the federation as a natural partner of the government, for the experience and contribution it made to serving Hong Kong people living in Guangdong.
'Because the FTU did a superb job, we discussed how to provide assistance to Hong Kong people and decided to run a trial programme on free legal advice,' Mr Leung said.
He referred to the legal service the federation has provided since 2004. It has handled nearly 8,000 cases, of which one third involved house and land disputes.
Yesterday's press conference at the Hong Kong office in Guangzhou was the last chance for Mr Leung to meet the press before he retires from the civil service today.