Update | Ex-justice secretary Wong part of expert team who trained students for crunch talks

Former Justice Secretary Wong Yan-lung and a number of other prominent Hong Kong figures have offered student protest leaders “intensive training” ahead of their talks with government officials that begin at 6pm today, the South China Morning Post has learned.

Wong, Democratic Party heavyweight Martin Lee Chu-ming SC and a group of constitutional law experts have offered advice from a legal perspective, while Dr Joseph Chan Cho-wai, a former head of the University of Hong Kong’s department of politics, has run through the political arguments.

Occupy Central co-founder Dr Chan Kin-man, an associate professor of sociology at Chinese University, was also part of the training team.

Wong's office on Tuesday evening denied reports he was directly involved in coaching the students. "[Suggestions that Wong] since last week had been helping to coach the five student representatives in preparation for the meeting with the government is completely untrue. Mr Wong has never met or spoken with any of the five student representatives.  Nor has he taken any part in the said coaching at all," his office said in a statement.

However, two knowledgeable sources said Wong had at the very least offered help.

Student leaders met senior government officials led by Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor for the talks which will be broadcast live on a variety of platforms.

The talks follow more than three weeks of street protests instigated by the student leaders, who have called on Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to resign and for Beijing to allow an open election of the next chief executive.