Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang and members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo), met with Guangdong Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang and provincial governor Huang Huahua on Sunday night during a two-day visit to the Pearl River Delta area.

Tsang praised the discussions for being "frank and candid."

"It was a very frank and candid exchange. I think this is a very good start," Tsang told a press conference after the meeting.

Legislators from Hong Kong arrived yesterday in Guangdong to open a "historic chapter" in the special administrative region's history.

It is the first time that all LegCo members including those from the pro-democracy camp have been invited to visit the mainland.

The visiting group included LegCo President Rita Fan, Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Frederick Ma, and the Secretary for Commerce and Industry & Technology John Tsang.

Tsang said the cooperation mechanism in the Pearl River Delta region has taken shape over the past year. He hoped the group's visit would boost efforts in this respect, and mutual understanding in the region.

The group visited Shenzhen, Dongguan and Guangzhou yesterday, and is scheduled to continue the tour with more activities in Guangzhou today before heading to Zhongshan.

They are scheduled to return to Hong Kong later this afternoon.

(Xinhua News Agency / China Daily September 26, 2005)