Legislators' delta trip big on scenery, short on official talks

The historic trip tomorrow by pro-democracy legislators to the Pearl River Delta will be packed with sightseeing events, but lacks detailed meetings with senior mainland leaders.

While hoping the trip can feature more opportunities to discuss economic and political issues with top mainland officials, the democrats said they hoped the ice-breaking occasion would be a 'platform for communication' and the start of a long-term working relationship.

Departing in three buses tomorrow morning, accompanied by about 30 government minders, 60 legislators will visit Shenzhen and Dongguan. Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen will lead the group, which will ride the underground in Shenzhen and visit factories before taking a cruise on the Pearl River in Guangzhou tomorrow evening.

They will tour more factories, universities and infrastructure projects in Zhongshan on Monday before return to Hong Kong.

Despite visiting more than 15 sightseeing spots, the only chance for legislators to discuss issues with mainland officials in detail will be an hour-long meeting with Guangdong Communist Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang tomorrow evening before the dinner banquet. They will also meet Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua, who will visit Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Democratic Party chairman Lee Wing-tat said the trip would be the first chance in many years for the party to directly channel its views to senior mainland officials, and he hoped there would be a longer session with Mr Zhang.

He said that other than cross-border matters such as economic, food safety and environmental issues, the party hoped to express demands for Beijing to reverse its verdict on the 1989 Tiananmen Square movement.