The body of Henry Fok Ying-tung, a former senior member of China's top advisory body, was flown to Hong Kong from Beijing yesterday for a traditional Chinese funeral on Tuesday.
Fok, 83, a vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), died in a Beijing hospital on Saturday night after a long battle with cancer.
After his father's coffin was transported to the Hong Kong Funeral Home, Fok's son, legislator Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, expressed gratitude to the central government and people who had offered help and shown concern for the family.
'The funeral should be held on November 7 and it will be conducted in a traditional Chinese way. A land burial will be held. I want to thank those who have shown their care,' he said.
A chartered flight carrying Fok's coffin, draped with the national flag, landed at Chek Lap Kok at 1.15pm. The family and ministerial-level officials from the CPPCC were on the flight, which departed from Beijing at 10am.
In the capital, a simple memorial service attended by state leaders was held at Peking Union Medical College Hospital.