HK legislators start historic mainland visit
By Tonny Chan (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-26 05:29

Tsang, who is also chief of the delegation, described the visit as "historic," as this was the first time that all LegCo members had come to the delta region together with the chief executive.

Hong Kong legislators greet onlookers as the delegation visits the Shenzhou metro system in South China's Guangdong Province on September 25, 2005. [newsphoto]

"The move is representative of the importance that we have attached to Guangdong, in particular the Pearl River Delta," Tsang said.

He believed that the visit would pave the way to better communications between the legislators and the central government in the future and facilitate the solving of more complicated issues involving both sides.

"With communication we can build trust. With trust, we can be more tolerant when we discuss issues of mutual concern," he said.

"I sincerely hope that this trip would be the first step in a journey of a thousand miles," the chief executive added.

The delegation, with LegCo President Rita Fan as the deputy head, crossed the border at Huanggang in the morning for a ride on the Shenzhen subway. They also visited key high-tech clusters in Shenzhen and Dongguan.

Fan said she had been longing to hear mainland officials introduce the development plan for the Pan-Pearl River Delta region and Guangdong in particular.

According to official trade figures, Hong Kong has been Guangdong's largest source of foreign investment.

Between 1979 and the end of 2004, 82,066 direct investments from Hong Kong were approved, bringing contracted investments worth US$156 billion to the province.

The delegation will return to Hong Kong late this afternoon. 

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