102
Chapter 19
Observations by AD(SS)/SWD
1.
eoverage
was not
when the
During the visit, the Soviet coup had medium
in Beijing newspapers and television.
The subject
picked up for discussion by Beijing officials, and
topic was raised, their official line was that it
was Soviet Union's internal affairs, and would have no
effect on China's policies and directions
economic reform.,
for gradual
2.
I was slightly relieved to find most of the
Chinese officials (senior middle-management ?) meeting the
Hong Kong delegation were relatively young (in their
thirties and forties), knowledgeable about their area of
work, and generally quite out-going and open in discussing
a subject. This is particularly so with the people in the
Ministry of Health, and also Dr. Wu Zhongze of the
Department of Social Welfare. The officers have had
extensive foreign contacts, (e.g. having attended overseas
conferences) unreserved in admitting their limitations and
setbacks, and yet very positive in looking ahead and
listing their plans and
directions,
undaunted by the
mammoth task faced by a
country with over a billion
population.
Officials of
MOFERT were young, smart and
confident but more prone
to
presenting a rosy front and
dodging less palatable
issues, e.g. problem faced by
'foreign' investors.