TNAG-2292-FCO40-3304-Official-visits-from-Hong-Kong-to-China-1991 — Page 110

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I have just returned from leading an official delegation to Beijing and Tianjin. as part of the Industry Department's regular programme of visits to China. The delegation contained members from the Industry Department. Trade and Industry Branch. Economic Services Branch, Political Adviser's Office. Port Development Board, and Census and Statistics Department. In Beijing we met with the municipal government and also with offices of the State Council (including the State Planning Commission, the Office of the Special Economic Zones, the Commission for Restructuring the Economy and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office). We also had lunch with staff of the British Embassy. In Tianjin we met with the municipal government and visited the city's port and Technological and Economic Development Area. We met a number of officials of vice- ministerial rank, including two vice-mayors of Beijing (the first vice-mayor Mr Zhang Jianmin, and Madam Wu Yi), the deputy director of the SEZ Office (Mr Hu Guangbao), and the vice-mayor of Tianjin (Mr Zhang Zhaoruo).

2. The Governor may be interested in the main impressions we gained on the visit, which were as follows:

(a) Most of us had not visited Beijing before, and found the experience valuable for the perspective it gave on Hong Kong. It was given a facelift recently for the Asian Games, and we saw it at the best time of the year, but even with this knowledge we all felt that. with its broad streets, tree-lined pavements, and monumental architecture (both ancient and modern), it was a beautiful and impressive capital city. It was full of tourists from other parts of China, enjoying what must for most have been the most splendid experience of their lives, and Beijing must have seemed to them a testimony to the wisdom and power of China's present government. For our part we found it easy to appreciate that, seen from Beijing, Hong Kong must seem, despite its economic importance, a small city on the periphery of China.

(b) In such a chastened mood, we were not surprised that our meetings with State Council organs in Beijing were very restrained, and that the officials we met were correct idecicgues. who did not depart from the party line' on Hong Kong. 'Mutual understanding' was a common phrase, but seemed to work in only one direction. They were happy for us to come to Beijing to listen to and learn from them (but not ask awkward questions which we did anyway), but did not feel it necessary to reciprocate. We felt that they did not have much first-hand experience of Hong Kong; did not particularly wish to amend their ignorance; and could not understand why Hong Kong. given the contents of the Joint Declaration, was worried about its future. The meeting with the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office was particularly depressing. We asked whether the Office was worried by Hong Kong's 'brain drain'. The answer was no, firstly because emigrants were already coming back, and secondly because people would stop worrying now that they understood how China intended to implement the one-country- two-systems formula. We were also given a mild lecture by the State Planning Commission on how technologically successful two of the four little dragons. South Korea and Singapore. were compared with Taiwan and Hong Kong. They seemed to be implying that we were not doing enough to upgrade, and were insufficiently focussed in our approach, and were obviously worried that, if Hong Kong fell behind, the benefits to China from our investments would be that less valuabie. On the positive side, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office was adamant that the border between capitalist Hong Kong and 'socialist' Shenzhen obviously they haven't been there recently - would be

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