Henry Tang appointed to China's top advisory body

Beijing has appointed Henry Tang Ying-yen to the nation's top advisory body, along with high-profile business leaders who refused to support Leung Chun-ying in last year's chief executive race against Tang.

The appointments to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are an apparent attempt to unite the pro-establishment camp. However, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was absent from the list of delegates - even though his predecessor as chief executive was made vice-chairman of the CPPCC after quitting prematurely in 2005, a position he still holds.

Meanwhile, Lew Mon-hung, who recently launched a scathing attack on Leung, is losing his CPPCC seat.

The list of new delegates, who will begin their five-year terms on the national body in March, also excludes Liao Hui, former director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, which means he will lose his position as a CPPCC vice-chairman.

Tang, Hospital Authority chairman Anthony Wu Ting-yuk and Peter Lee Ka-kit, son of Henderson Land Development chairman Lee Shau-kee, all made the list which included more than 200 people from various sectors in Hong Kong.

Both Wu and Lee backed Tang in the nomination process at the start of the chief executive campaign last March. Wu, Lee and Tang are now being widely tipped to be elected as members of the CPPCC standing committee next month.