Criticism of Beijing electoral ruling ‘missing’ from Law Society’s submission
Law Society is said to have excluded solicitors' disappointment at 'regressive' framework in report to government
The professional body of solicitors is suspected of omitting members' criticisms against Beijing's electoral reform criteria from a report submitted to the Hong Kong government last week.
Members of the Law Society had criticised Beijing's framework on the city's 2017 chief executive election as "regressive" and said the society was "disappointed" with it.
Those comments were contained in an internal report that the society's constitutional affairs and human rights committee prepared last year, according to two sources.
But they were nowhere to be found in the society council's submission on Friday, which instead recognised Beijing's authority to lay down restrictions on the 2017 ballot.
"None of those comments from the earlier unanimous draft had made it into the submission," committee member Mark Daly, a human rights lawyer, said.
"[The submission] is misleading to the public. It does not reflect my views."
Society vice-president Thomas So Shiu-tsung, who also heads the committee, denied there was any political consideration behind what was - or was not - stated in the submission.