Former liaison chief in Hong Kong to assume role in National People’s Congress

Beijing’s former liaison office chief in Hong Kong, Zheng Yanxiong, has returned to the nation’s capital and is expected to take up a senior role in the country’s top legislature, the Post has learned.

Two sources familiar with the matter said Zheng, who was abruptly removed as director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong on May 31, would be appointed executive deputy director of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee.

This means he will continue to hold his rank as a full minister.

One source said Zheng had arrived in Beijing as of Tuesday and reported to work with the NPC.

The source, who declined to be named, said Zheng’s appointment would be formally endorsed at the NPC Standing Committee’s meeting in the second half of this month.

A second source, who also asked to remain anonymous, said Zheng sent a small poem to many pro-Beijing politicians he had worked with in Hong Kong before his departure.