A senior Beijing official who has been handling Hong Kong affairs for more than three decades has been transferred to the nation’s top political advisory body as it seeks greater and more meaningful engagement with the local community, the Post has learned.

A mainland Chinese source on Tuesday said Zhang Xiaoming, formerly executive deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), had been appointed deputy secretary general of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

But it remains unclear who will succeed Zhang at the HKMAO.