Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang yesterday invited all local lawmakers including radicals to join him on a visit to the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region on the mainland next month, after securing the green light from the central government.

The delegation will visit Guangzhou and other cities in the region on September 25 and 26, during which Tsang and the Hong Kong legislators will meet with Zhang Dejiang secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua.

Announcing the breakthrough in Hong Kong, the chief executive did not rule out similar visits to other mainland cities if next month's visit turns out successfully in terms of trust building.

"This arrangement bears testimony to the central government's support for and goodwill towards Hong Kong... Getting into the Pearl River Delta, though it might seem a small step, is a gigantic stride towards a relationship of mutual trust and understanding," Tsang said.

He said promoting relations and communications between the central government and the LegCo, and enhancing social harmony, were two priorities of his policy agenda, and he had been working for both since his election victory two months ago.

Saying the economic well-being of Hong Kong could not be separated from the progress of the country and the Pearl River Delta in particular, Tsang said he decided to propose to the central government that he should invite all LegCo members on a visit to the delta region.

Senior lecturer James Sung of City University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies hailed the visit as a major breakthrough and an olive branch from the central government.

Commenting on the development over the phone, Sung said the ball was now in the court of the habitual opponents of the government.

(China Daily August 31, 2005)