Your Focus article ("The tide turns for Xi", October 24) presented an interesting background sketch of our leader-in-waiting, Xi Jinping . Of particular note, was his Fujian campaign slogan of "returning green mountains and rivers to our people".
I write this as Hong Kong faces a dilemma over the acquisition of land to house its growing population.
Before June 1997, the British Army garrison occupied some 39 sites throughout Hong Kong. Under a Beijing-London agreement, 25 sites were redeveloped and 14 handed over to the People's Liberation Army.
In June 2009, at a Legislative Council meeting, several questions were asked of the secretary for security regarding the possible public use of the PLA sites. There were no informative replies apart from reference made to sections 13 and 14 of the Basic Law.
It is maintained that the 6,000-odd, lightly-armoured PLA presence in Hong Kong is for "defence" - from whom, is not clear - but the idea of an invasion force occupying China, via Hong Kong, does not make much sense.
Unless, of course, the PLA troops' presence is to counter any sort of local insurgency - in which case, failing the best efforts of the Hong Kong Police Force, sufficient reinforcements can be easily drawn from barracks north of the border.