Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, newly elected Hong Kong deputy to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, has vowed to maintain her own style in her new role.
Mrs Fan has replaced former deputy Tsang Hin-chi, who was renowned for his fervent patriotism and confrontational stance with pan-democrats.
But in an interview, Mrs Fan indicated that her style was unlikely to be as confrontational as Mr Tsang's, neither would she be a mere mouthpiece for the Standing Committee.
'I have a great amount of respect for Mr Tsang,' said Mrs Fan. 'But we are two different people ... we have our own ways of dealing with things.'
However, she also insisted she had no plans to redefine her role and that she would be true to herself.
When it comes to explaining the stance of the central authorities, she also pledged to be transparent in her reasoning and her opinions.