Acting Chief Executive Sonia Chan Hoi Fan has expressed her condolences over the passing of former prime minister Qian Qichen, according to a statement by the Government Information Bureau (GCS) on Saturday.
Qian passed away in Beijing on Tuesday, aged 89. He was also a former foreign minister and headed the preparatory committees for the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions in the 1990s. The career diplomat retired in 2002.Chan’s letter of condolences underlined Qian’s close ties with Macau and his role in the Sino-Portuguese negotiations on the city’s transfer of administration in 1999.
