Pan-democrat denies hidden agenda in meeting with Zhang Xiaoming

An independent lawmaker has denied having any hidden agenda when he went into talks with the central government's top representative in the city on Wednesday without notifying fellow pan-democrats or the media beforehand.

Ip Kin-yuen tried to clear the air a day after he met liaison office director Zhang Xiaoming in a Causeway Bay hotel for almost two hours to press the pan-democratic camp's case for universal suffrage.

Ip, who represents the education sector through the Professional Teachers' Union, said yesterday that "everything was conducted in the full light of day".

"I consulted members of the teachers' union, who agreed I should seize the opportunity for communication with Beijing," he said, speaking alongside union president Fung Wai-wah.

"We are putting every detail of the meeting under the sunlight."

But the pair admitted they were the only ones who knew the time and venue of the session, confirmed on Monday.

"Media workers were not invited because of technical difficulties in accommodating them in a hotel, which does not belong to the union or the liaison office," Ip said. "In hindsight, it might have been better had I given other pan-democrats a heads-up."