TNAG-2293-FCO40-3305-Official-visits-from-Hong-Kong-to-China-1991 — Page 170

(b)

-

120

the

The fact that HKMAO, State Council had confirmed

administrative details concerning the Peking

Embassy's cocktail reception for the HK delegation

arrival indicates that their

relationship has become closer than before. In

before

our

fact, Chen Bingling told me that officials from

the HKMAO had recently been invited by Miss Janet

Rogan to a cocktail party in her house;

(c) Compared with the last sponsored visit to China in

April 1991, there were a lot more official

arranged during this visit. It

lunches/dinners arranged

appeared, from informal sounding out of the

Chinese minders, that these dinners were proposed

and paid by individual ministries and not by the

НКМАО. This might indicate the wish of officials

from ministries other than the two HKMAOS to find

out more about Hong Kong or tell us more about

their work through informal social conversation.

While the majority of Chinese officials we met did

not appear to be too keen to find out more about

Hong Kong, these

lunches/dinners provided

provided good

opportunities for us to ask questions;

(a)

I had thoroughly enjoyed the two days of

sightseeing in Chengde, but would have preferred

to visit a more important city and to be briefed

on how provincial governments work;