Zhang Lan, founder and Chairwoman of the Beijing-based restaurant group South Beauty, has submitted a written application to give up her membership of the Beijing Chaoyang District Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on November 26. The committee approved her application on November 30.

According to Zheng Huang, the committee's vice chairman, when a CPPCC member no longer holds Chinese nationality, he or she is deprived of the membership.

The Hurun China Rich List of the nation's wealthiest individuals ranked Zhang 589th, with an estimated fortune of 3.1 billion yuan ($490 million) in 2011.