By Tony Cheung and Natalie Wong From SCMP

• Meetings between the city’s pro-establishment elite and Beijing officials last week point to a new power centre in the making – and it will have a tough sidekick
• Overhaul effectively means the chief executive will no longer be the most powerful political figure in the city

Hong Kong’s pro-establishment elite who huddled in meetings with Beijing officials last week on the city’s biggest political shake-up came away with two hard truths: a new power centre was in the making and a vetting committee would be its tough sidekick.

The Election Committee to select the chief executive, which Hong Kong’s political class is familiar with, is being remade into a body that will decide not just on the top job, but also be the gatekeepers determining who gets to run as Legislative Council candidates. For added insurance, it will be sending its own members to the legislature to ensure it is in control.

For more on this story go to: SCMP