CONFIDENTIAL
PA CR 1/4/5701/86
(669)
APA I
through.
2
RECEIVED IN REG
27 OCT 1986
3DS* OFFICER TRECKSTRY
INDEX
Meeting with Party Secretary of Guangdong
PA
| Action Tøken
On your advice I went to the airport to see Mr Lin Ruo
This initial contact was reasonably worthwhile.
Mr Lin who was travelling in a non-party role is, I would guess, 60. He was personally very pleasant. His style was relaxed. He was not a bit fussed that senior NCNA had not come out to see him (Brownie points for us however). Those in attendance were a NCNA Deputy Secretary General, Mr Niu Shao, and the Chairman of Guangdong Enterprises (Holdings) Limited, Mr Zheng Kang Ming. The latter was very chatty and switched on.
3.
Mr Lin said he had visited Hong Kong briefly in 1980, at the start of the open door period. More significant, he had spent some months here (he mentioned both Kowloon and Yuen
Long) in 1946. He did not say what for.
4.
Conversation was mostly economic.
Mr Lin told me that the Guangdong economy was doing pretty well he thought the harvest (I think his point was limited to that) would be up about 10% on last year. Areas of Guangdong hit by severe weather earlier this summer were recovering - and Swatow was doing particularly well. At present however there was drought in a number of places. The effect on the crops was less visible than the effect of floods but it was still bad. Relating to this water shortage there was a major energy shortage (his colleagues nodded virorously. One of them said they had had to bring small diesel plants into operation at the local level). There was grateful reference to Hong Kong electricity. I countered with the usual pigs and water.
CONFIDENTIAL
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