It will also inform the congress that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has remained prosperous, five years after its return to the motherland.

Mark Brown, delegation leader, said the delegation made a trip to the Chinese mainland from Aug. 12 to 18, and a three-day study tour in the HKSAR starting Aug. 19.

The trip was organized by the US-based US-Asia Institute and Hong Kong-based Better Hong Kong Foundation.

"The Chinese officials we spoke with spoke very strongly against terrorism and about their need to work with the world community to try to fight terrorism. Of course, this is the kind of information we'll tell the congressmen and senators, when we go back home. We got very positive statements on that subject. I am glad that China is with us on the issue," said Brown to the media.

Brown added he was amazed to witness the vibrant economic development in the mainland, insinuating that people who need to understand China should come to China to see for themselves, rather than relying on depiction in media reports and rumors.

Brown said Hong Kong SAR Secretary Security Regional and local business leaders he has met here told him that they are also confident about both the state of security and the security measures taken in the HKSAR.

Commenting on the present situation in Hong Kong, Brown said, "I was here, the first time, 30 days before the handover. There were a lot of uncertainties at the time about what was going to happen. And now when we asked the question five years later 'what happened?', everything seems to have gone very smoothly. The principle of 'one country two systems' seems to be working very well," he said.

( August 21, 2002)