TNAG-1165-FCO40-1445-Visits-by-officials-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 171

布政司署

港下亞厘畢道

CONFIDENTIAL

Mr. Williala

** OUR REF.: (59) in SCR 29/5701/79eQuade

本署檔號

來函檔號 YOUR REF.:

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GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

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6 January 1982 need to

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R D Clift Esq

Hong Kong & General Dept F CO

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Dear inck,

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1401242

VISIT TO HONG KONG BY THE MAYOR OF CANTON, LIANG LINGGUANG, 22-31 DECEMBER

The Mayor of Canton LIANG Lingguang, visited Hong Kong privately on his return to China from the United States, where he had visited a number of cities and had signed a Town Twinning agreement with Los Angeles. Apart from a brief transit in 1937 on his way to China from Malaya to take part in the war against the Japanese he had not been here before. No doubt inspired by the programmes laid on for the Guangdong Party First Secretary, REN Xhongyi and for the Mayor of Shanghai, NCNA asked us to organise visits to a few places of interest. A two day programme which included visits to the airport, the Kwai Chung container terminal and a public housing estate was arranged (copy enclosed). Mayor LIANG and his party also visited Macau for two days over Christmas and were received by the Governor, Captain Almeida e Costa. His private engagements in Hong Kong included dinners given by prominent local businessmen.

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At our suggestion Mayor LIANG also called on the Governor. I enclose a record of the conversation which was along the lines now customary on such occasions. You will note that LIANG said that Canton was to be allowed to adopt a "flexible" approach to foreign investment, rather like the Special Economic Zones. This tallies with earlier statements to this effect attributed to REN Zhongyi. The Governor took the opportunity to remind LIANG that, with the increasing number of large scale projects of interest both to Hong Kong and to neighbouring parts of China, early consul- tation was desirable to achieve the necessary coordination. LIANG seemed to take the point.

CONFIDENTIAL

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