When she was asked to meet the chief Chinese representative to the Sino-British Land Commission, Sun Yanxing, in September 1985, Melinda Ko Shuen-hing had no idea what the organisation did.
Ko, who was then working in the property-leasing and management division of China Resources, could hardly have imagined that she would soon become one of the few Hongkongers to take part in negotiations between Beijing and London over leases of Hong Kong land in the run-up to the handover. The commission was needed because a provision in the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed a year earlier limited the lease of new land to 50 hectares a year until 1997.
It was the job of the panel - set up in May 1985 - to monitor that limit and consider proposals from the British side for exceptions to it.
Sun wanted Ko to be a liaison officer and spokeswoman for the Land Commission. She agreed, assuming the title of third secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
'Beijing wanted some Hong Kong people who were familiar with land supply and land laws of Hong Kong to work in the Land Commission,' said Ko (pictured). 'I am honoured to have had the opportunity to help tackle some practical issues for Hong Kong people during the transitional period.'
Her role on the commission earned her a Chinese diplomatic passport and diplomatic immunity in Hong Kong, something she enjoyed until the Land Commission was dissolved in June 1997. She was promoted to first secretary in 1993.