TNAG-1473-FCO40-2004-Visits-by-MPs-from-the-UK-to-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 106

MEMO

49

To

Commissioner (London)

Your Ref..

in.

dated

руб

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Visit to Hong Kong by Dr. Stuart Holland, MP

AB13 I write to report an unexpected visit to

1315 Hong Kong by Dr. Stuart Holland, the Shadow Minister of Overseas Development and a Labour Party MP, between

10 and 12 April. Without any prior notice, we received on 9 April a telephone call from the Immigration Office at Lo Wu that they had been informed a short while earlier by the Chinese authorities in Shenzhen that Dr. Stuart Holland, MP, would cross the border into Hong Kong early in the morning of 10 April.

2.

The note requested assistance in arranging accommodation and transport for Dr. Holland and a brief meeting with H.E. The arrangements were duly made inspite of the short notice. In addition, we suggested and arranged for Dr. Holland-to meet DPA on 11 April. We understand that Dr. Holland also met the Honourable Martin Lee and a few journalists while he was here and the meetings were arranged by his contact in Hong Kong, Mr. Leo Goodstadt.

3.

Upon arrival, Dr. Holland requested that the Hong Kong Government pay for his hotel bill having complained that the Hilton was too expensive. (We had been unable to book a room in the Furama because of the short notice.) This was politely declined and we explained to him that since his visit had not been budgetted for, there were no funds available to pay for his expenditure in Hong Kong. However, before his departure, he made the request again through DPA. Given the fact that he had undertaken some activities in Hong Kong which should improve his understanding of Hong Kong, and bearing in mind the objective of the overseas PR strategy in winning friends for Hong Kong, I agreed to a compromise whereby the Hong Kong Government paid for his hotel accommodation for one of the two nights he stayed in Hong Kong.

Before his departure, we also explained to him that MPs were welcome to visit Hong Kong under

4.

a sponsorship programme. He was advised to contact you if he was interested. We also explained to him that if he was sponsored to visit Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Government would organise a visit programme for him for 3 to 5 days. in order to help him to understand better the economy and society of Hong Kong.

*RICIRELITI AI

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