Tsang was a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, from 1994 to 2008. He was appointed a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee in the 1980s.

Choy So-yuk, a Hong Kong deputy to the NPC, said she was sorry to hear of Tsang's death. She spoke highly of the philanthropic entrepreneur's patriotism, noting that when NPC members visited areas of poverty on the mainland, Tsang would donate to the construction there.

Albert Au Yeung, a senior Hong Kong journalist who interviewed Tsang over 10 years ago, recalled that Tsang was an easygoing person, very friendly to journalists, and often invited journalists to gatherings at his home. Though at that time Tsang already had some health problems, the tycoon continued his charity for the country, Au Yeung said.

Tsang also organized many media tours to the mainland to promote Hong Kong journalists' understanding of the country's development, Au Yeung added.