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NEW GUANGDONG GOVERNOR:
The mayor of Guangzhou, Mr. Liang Lingguang (66) was elected Governor of Guangdong at the 6th Provincial People's Congress which was held between 3-10 April. Seven vice-governors were also elected. They included Mr. Liang Xiang, major of Shenzhen.
Two former Vice Governors were not re-elected. They were Mr. Liang Weilin who had been elected chairman of the provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Mr. Ye Xuanping, son of Marshal Ye Jianying, who was tipped to become the next mayor of Guangzhou. The outgoing Governor, Mr. Liu Tianfu, was expected to step down from the front line.
The sixth Guangdong Provincial People's Congress opened in Guangzhou on 3 April. In his opening address, Mr. Liu Tianfu said the province would in future be even more open to outside investment and he looked forward to accelerated development in the South Sea oil exploration and the construction of the nuclear power plant. At the meeting, about 70 HK and Macau residents were elected members of the Guangdong branch of the NPC and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. They included two new members, Mr. Alan Lau, chairman of Millies Holdings and proprietor of Tin Tin Yat Po and Mr. C.P. Ho, local journalist and publisher of several China trade journals.
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PARLIAMENTARY GROUP TO VISIT HK:
Parliament will send a five-man all party fact-finding mission to HK in May, the first issue of a fortnightly Chinese-language magazine, HK News Journal said.
The magazine was launched on 29 March. Its executive director is Mr. To Yiu Ming, a former journalist of the HK Economic Journal and its editor is Wong Kwok-wah, the former news editor of Pai Shing Semi-monthly.
Quoting sources in Britain, the article said the mission indicated that Parliament was also beginning to take a positive attitude over the 1997 issue as China continued to invite local groups to Beijing.
It claimed that China, through the left-wing Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in HK, planned to train up a group of young people to pave the way for the implementation of the HK people running HK proposition. It also quoted sources in China as saying that Beijing would make a statement in June which might mark the commencement of the substantive talks on HK's future. It said the chief negotiator of the Chinese team would be Mr. Yao Guang while his British counterpart would be Lord Belstead. Both men are holding posts at the level of vice ministers. The substantive talks would begin when Lord Belstead went to Beijing to meet Mr. Yao.
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