Qin says, "The reply indicated that Blair's office was totally in agreement to our invitation, and that they tried to make it purposeful made us very excited." It was set that Blair would drop into Songshan Lake in Dongguan on his way from Hongkong to Beijing, visit a residence district that represents China's residential development, and then go to the hotel to deliver a speech.
"After everything was set, other details became important. The key goal of the event was to attract as much public attention as possible to the company and its projects," says, who is especially proud of his strategizing maneuver on two details.
The first was how to make Blair linger longer in the residential district. In the initial proposal, according to Qin, Blair was to take a walk around the Songshan Lake to learn more about the residence's conditions and later talk with the municipal leaders in a VIP chamber.
"Blair's office hoped to cancel the walk around the lake for security's sake," Qin recalls. Guangda then persuaded the office that the walk was necessary for Blair to truly understand the residence condition in China, adding that the VIP chamber was built on a slope where cars were not allowed. That convinced the office.
In fact, the so-called VIP chamber is a showroom villa of the project, which is purposely rushed to completion in conjunction with Blair's visit. Moreover, all the villas under construction would be in view when Blair walked along the lake.
"He (Blair) understood the underlying commercial tone once he got off the car and saw the whole project." Qin recalls, adding that Blair quite enjoyed the more than ten minutes' walk.
The security issue was complex. According to regulations, the bodyguards cannot be arranged until the visit is officially approved, which means that the company had only a day to put things together.
Both the provincial and the municipal security bureaus were set to safeguard the guest during the entire visit. Apart from six escort vehicles and three bodyguards, both the chamber and the hotel were equipped with electronic security screening equipment.
To Qin, Blair seemed to be quite satisfied with the trip. The talk with government officials lasted nearly an hour, about 40 minutes longer than initially planned. Later, Blair gave a 30-minutes speech, and allowed another 30-minutes for questions and answers session. To show his intimacy with China, Blair had mentioned at the beginning of his speech that his sister-in-law was Chinese and his seven-year-old nephew was learning Chinese.
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