Hu's men elected advisers to China's parliament
BEIJING (Reuters) - Five political allies of Chinese President Hu Jintao were elected senior advisers to parliament on Thursday as he moved to further consolidate power.
Hu, who doubles as Communist Party and military chief, has sought to shake off any lingering influence of his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, during his second five-year term.
The advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, endorsed Hu's nominations of the five men, confirming a Reuters story on Wednesday.
Wang Gang, who is acceptable to both Hu and Jiang, was elected the No. 1 vice-chairman with 2,159 votes and 14 against.
Wang, a member of the Party's decision-making Politburo, is tipped to eventually replace Jia Qinglin, ranked fourth in the Communist Party hierarchy, who was re-elected chairman with 2,141 votes, 21 against and 15 abstentions.
Other Hu allies who were elected vice-chairmen, a post with a rank equivalent to a vice-premier, were outgoing Minister of Culture Sun Jiazheng, Heilongjiang Party boss Qian Yunlun and Minister of United Front Work Du Qinglin who is responsible for winning over non-Communists.
Hu Deping, the eldest son of Hu Jintao's mentor, settled for a seat in the advisory body's elite Standing Committee.
A vice-president of the Central Party School that grooms up-and-coming Communist officials, has said the advisory body would play a bigger role in domestic politics.
The advisory body is composed of more than 2,000 members from all walks of life, including non-Communists, intellectuals, business and religious leaders, Taiwanese defectors, Hong Kong's elite, Tibetans and other ethnic minorities, actors, singers and artists.
The advisory body elected a total of 25 vice-chairmen. Newcomers included the wheelchair-bound son of late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.
Former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa and 98-year-old Tibetan Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, who signed the 1951 surrender agreement, retained their posts as vice-chairmen.
(Reporting by Guo Shipeng and Benjamin Kang Lim; Editing by Lindsay Beck)
