BEIJING: China has given a political role to the 2012 winner of Nobel prize for literature Mo Yan and movie star Jackie Chan by selecting them as members of one of the houses of parliament, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

They are among the 2,237 persons handpicked by China’s new leaders led by Xi Jinping as new members of the CPPCC National Committee . But the party appointed only 399 women to fill seats in the powerful body. Xi, the new general secretary of the Communist Party , is expected to become the country’s new president when the two Houses of Parliament meet in March.

Mo, the first Chinese citizen to win the coveted prize, was watched closely at home and abroad when he accepted the prize and travelled to Europe . He did not either praise or criticize the government and most of his statements focused on literature with his life in a village in Shandong province. Yao Ming, a popular basket ball player and former NBA star has also been given a seat in the CPPCC.

The CPPCC members, who are from different walks of life were selected without an election process and include 893 members of the Communist Party. Those chosen include officials, military officers, members of non-Communist parties, along with representatives from economic, political, cultural , social and environmental fields, said Ling Jihua , head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee.