Slow CPPCC banquets don't fill me up, says Eric Tsang

Stephen Chow Sing-chi is not the only Hong Kong funny man to get involved in national politics lately.

Well-known fellow actor and showbiz veteran Eric Tsang Chi-wai, a member of Guangzhou Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) since 2011, showed up in Jiangmen to hear the government’s Work Report over the weekend and left feeling rather unfulfilled.

It wasn’t just that he found the lengthy speeches boring and unfair to other members such as himself who didn’t get an equal chance to speak in the discussions; he said the meals were quite "frugal".

"It’s good that they’re saving a lot of money but I'm really not full enough!" joked the portly Tsang, referring to the party’s bid to cut costs and waste – also in line with the new banquet mantra of "four dishes, one soup".

According to Xinhua, CPPCC members dined on four dishes: a master stock platter, taro-fried bacon, snow peas, lotus root fungus and poached chicken.

Tsang described the downsized dishes as a "little slow", "a little cold" and "less lively than the old days".

The actor was arrested in Hong Kong last month for slapping a businessman at a hotel wedding ceremony.

Tsang may be a comedian but his unsatisfied appetite could indicate some progress in Xi Jinping’s plans to curb over-extravagant banqueting, once a staple of Chinese politics and graft.