New NPC deputy Fei Fih said local deputies should give 'constructive advice' rather than advocating major changes such as the adoption of Western-style democracy.
'I know China very well, I can differentiate where I should and where I should not put my hands . . . The crucial thing is to put forward opinion with a good intent,' she said.
'I will not embark on things that are impossible to achieve.' Daughter of former Ta Kung Pao proprietor Fei Yiming, Ms Fei, 55, was brought to Hong Kong when she was six years old.
She returned to the mainland in 1964 to study at Beijing's First Foreign Language Institute.
In 1966, the Cultural Revolution forced the institute to move to Hubei province.
Her Hong Kong connection made classmates suspicious of her, but she did not suffer at the hands of the Red Guards.
Ms Fei finished her degree in 1973 and became an interpreter for the Foreign Ministry.