HONG KONG'S Washington representative, Barrie Wiggham, called a meeting late last night to assess how Mr Nixon's death would affect the visit to the United States of Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang.

Mrs Chan, who arrived in the capital early this morning (Hong Kong time) to lobby for renewal of China's MFN trading status, would probably find her schedule disrupted, he said.

Mr Nixon's funeral takes place on Wednesday - the day Mrs Chan is due to meet congressmen from the House Foreign Affairs Asia Pacific sub-committee, pay visits to administration officials, and attend a lunch with VIPs hosted by the US-China Business Council. A tentative appointment with Vice-President Al Gore the day before may now also have to be cancelled.

Mrs Chan was expected to express Hong Kong's condolences when she arrived in Washington.