| Abstract | For seven days, Michael Heseltine had flown the flag for "UK Inc" across China, yet the territory was granted just 24 hours of his time. The contrast might not have appeared so stark had John Major's number two crammed a few meetings into his brief stopover. But Heseltine declined to do so, spurning the Legislative Council for time-consuming excursion to view airport development sites. And if Major's outspoken remarks in defence of Chris Patten during that visit, and more recently in the row with Hong Kong businessmen, are further contrasted with Foreign Secretary Rifkind's own lukewarm offerings, there arises the suggestion that the British Government's big-hitters are singing from different song sheets. |
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