GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Hong Kong legislators are on a two-day official visit to mainland China, including democrats who were banned from the mainland for 16 years.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang arranged for all 60 legislators to be invited to visit Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong, on a whirlwind tour that includes four cities and meetings with provincial and local officials. All but one accepted the invitation.
The lawmakers met Sunday with Guangdong Communist Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang in an encounter described by Tsang as "frank and constructive."
Democrats, however, said Zhang was dismissive of their opinions and unwilling to listen to dissenting views, especially concerning the June 4, 1989, crackdown in Tiananmen Square and the timetable for granting democracy to Hong Kong.
Their itinerary also included a high-tech industrial area in Shenzhen, the manufacturing hub of Dongguan, a university in Guangzhou and a community center in Zhongshan before returning to Hong Kong Monday evening.
The legislators had hoped to visit Beijing to meet central government officials. Nevertheless, the trip is considered groundbreaking as it is the first time mainland officials have held discussions with Hong Kong legislators, including 25 from democratic parties.
