Tens of thousands of villagers will attend a banquet next month to celebrate the appointment of rural patriarch Lau Wong-fat to the Executive Council.
The Democratic Party has filed a complaint with the ICAC, accusing Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen of offering a seat on Exco to Mr Lau as a political reward ordered by Beijing.
Mr Lau is chairman of rural affairs body the Heung Yee Kuk. Yesterday, vice-chairman of the kuk Cheung Hok-ming acknowledged there were plans to celebrate the appointment.
He said a committee had been set up and the banquet would probably be held towards the end of March.
'We will have thousands of tables and invite tens of thousands of people. It symbolises how united the people of the New Territories are. We may have it in Yuen Long or in Lam Tsuen,' he said.
The celebration comes in spite of an ominous start to the new lunar year for Mr Lau. His appointment to Exco last month caused controversy when veteran political figure Allen Lee Peng-fei claimed a source close to Mr Lau had told him in July that Mr Lau would be given the post after he gave up his Legislative Council seat representing district councils.
Ip Kwok-him, a vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, won the seat. Mr Lau was returned through the seat representing the kuk. The decision to give up his seat - and his support for rival candidates - was allegedly the basis for the reward, Mr Lee said.