China’s top political advisory body is to have one fewer vice-chairman from Hong Kong as the seat of the city’s first post-handover leader will not be filled after he steps down, the Post has learned.

But observers said the retirement of Tung Chee-hwa, 85 – leaving another former chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, as the city’s only vice-chairman on the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – would not weaken the city’s voice in Beijing.

The reduced representation for Hong Kong was also seen in the Standing Committee of the CPPCC during the five-yearly transition, as the number of city delegates decreased from 18 last term to 16, with nine new joiners.