Update | Long Hair Leung Kwok-hung flies back to Hong Kong after row at Shanghai airport
Pan-democrat returns to HK after dispute at airport, with two more flying back in support
A trip by Hong Kong lawmakers to Shanghai to meet state officials got off to a disastrous start yesterday, with three pan-democrats including "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung deciding to turn back soon after they arrived.
The remaining 11 pan-democrats decided to stay for the talks on political reform.
Leung, chairman of the League of Social Democrats, secured a last-minute ticket and returned to Hong Kong last night.
I hope the incident won't seriously affect the way the visit is being conducted
He had arrived in Shanghai wearing a T-shirt bearing words in support of Tiananmen Mothers, a group formed by mothers whose children died in the 1989 crackdown.
Customs officers searched his luggage as he waited in a VIP lounge at the airport with the rest of the Hong Kong party.
He was then asked to surrender items he was carrying, including leaflets about the crackdown, several T-shirts with related slogans and a book on the Communist Party that is banned on the mainland. But Leung refused.
Other lawmakers attempted to mediate and Legco Secretariat staff sought help from the Hong Kong trade office in Shanghai.
After a stand-off of about 20 minutes, Leung decided to boycott the meeting and return to Hong Kong.
