As members of the IPCC are directly appointed by the Chief Executive, the council is generally aligned with pro-establishment figures. The former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, for instance, drew criticism for appointing Barry Chin Chi-yung, a member of the pro-Beijing political group Silent Majority for Hong Kong, to the council. Where Chin was an outspoken critic of the 2014 pro-democracy protests, which saw allegations of police brutality. In 2017, Chief Executive Carrie Lam sought to enhance the credibility of the IPCC by appointing Anthony Francis Neoh, a heavyweight in the legal sector, as its chairman.