During the 2014 Hong Kong protests, James Tien called on Chief Executive CY Leung to resign, leading to the hearing of a call to eject him as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Tien was formally stripped of his post at the meeting on 29 October, making him the first person in history to have received this sanction. Tien stepped down from his position as the leader of the Liberal Party after the removal. Tien and Selina Chow joined Miriam Lau to become the honorary chairmen in the following leadership election on 1 December while Vincent Fang and Felix Chung became the new Leader and chairman respectively and Eastern District Councillor Peter Shiu became the party's vice-chairman. Although not holding any executive position in the party, Tien has remained the spokesman and "de facto" leader of the Liberal Party.