Image: meiguoxing.com

Yao Ming is no longer playing for the NBA, but since his departure from the sport last summer the 7-foot-6 Chinese man has been keeping extremely busy.

Ming left the NBA last July and has since become a force to reckon with back in his hometown of Shanghai. Not wasting any time, Ming, 31, went back to school, launched a wine label, is the owner of Shanghai’s professional basketball team, The Sharks, and last weekend he was elected to a political advisory committee, beginning what could be a new career.

Ming is one of seven newly elected members to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Shanghai Committee. His new colleagues are all nearly twice as old as he is and include directors of the Shanghai Library and the Shanghai Tourism Bureau. The committee consists of 142 people and part of Ming’s responsibilities include attending regular meetings and offering suggestions or written proposals to the local government. He says “raising proposals is very serious business and I do not want to be hasty,” adding that he will be focusing his efforts on sports education.

Ming’s spokesman, Zhang Chi, says, “Yao said the new title shows trust coming from the people in the city. The responsibilities for a CPPCC member include offering political consultation and supervision. What Yao wants is to use his influence to do good deeds for society, but not to seek a political position.”

Source: ABC News