GOVERMENT HOUSE HONG KONG.
TUE 02 NOV 93 10:28
PG.02
RC
CONFIDENTIAL
1.
ECVIIS:
Flights to Guangxi
We agreed that I would make a personal approach to Xu Liugen of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Peking over landing permission for the forthcoming flights to return ECVIIs to Hainan and Guangxi. In the event, rather than sending a written message, I decided to make a further attempt to telephone Xu (as he had invited me to do if problems arose). This time I got through.
As I
2.
Xu said he had been doing his best to help us. would know, landing permission for foreign aircraft was never simple matter in China. "Several departments" were involved,
He could
and not all of them were instinctively sympathetic. now tell us, however, that the flights we were proposing to
Detailed planning could now Haikou next week could go ahead. progress on the liaison channel.
3.
તુ
The door was not
We should
Guangxi was more difficult, said Xu. entirely closed. But he could tell me categorically that it would not be possible to secure the necessary approval in time for flights to take place on 16-19 November. therefore cancel these dates. He would keep trying, and we might be able to reinstate the flights later. could not be taken for granted.
4.
But even that
I thanked Xu for the efforts he had made so far and
We were anxious to asked his advice on how we should proceed.
begin returns to Guangxi.
If we did not, people here would begin to ask why: there was still significant press interest in the repatriation programme. It would not be easy to explain why flights to Hainan were possible, but those to Guangxi were not. If it would help, the flights need not be to Nanning. We would be happy to arrange them to other airports such as
Guilin.
CONFIDENTIAL