Former Hong Kong chief executives Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying have been chosen as vice-chairs of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – the top advisory body in China.
Of the 2,144 votes cast, Tung received 2,134 in support and five against with five abstentions. Leung received 2,140 votes in support, with two against and two abstaining. Tung received the lowest number of votes among 24 vice-chairmen.
Former Macaunese leader Edmund Ho – also a vice-chairman – and newly appointed chair Wang Yang both received all votes in favour.
Tung, the first chief executive of Hong Kong after the 1997 Handover, became a vice-chairman in 2005 after he stepped down citing foot pain in the same year.
Leung, appointed in March last year, was the first chief executive to hold both positions during his leadership tenure. He received the job after deciding not to seek re-election at the end of 2016, citing family reasons.
The CPPCC meeting in Beijing also selected a new group of Standing Committee members. They included former World Health Organisation head Margaret Chan, businessman Peter Lam, President Lam Shuk-yee of the Federation of Trade Unions, chair of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce Jonathan Choi, and China Liaison Office Deputy Director Tan Tieniu.
Margaret Chan and Chau On Ta Yuen, another Standing Committee member, are both 70 years old, despite an unwritten rule suggesting that members over 68 years old should not stay in the CPPCC. Chau received eight votes against him – the highest number among 300 Standing Committee members.
Pro-establishment figures also chosen for another term on the CPPCC Standing Committee include: the CEO of Phoenix Television Liu Changle, Deputy Chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings Victor Li, Vice-chairman of Henderson Land Development Peter Lee, Chair of Sing Tao News Corporation Charles Ho and former Hong Kong chief secretary Henry Tang. Charles Ho is 68 years old.
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