When Mintoff brought coffee to China

The photograph accompanying the article entitled Mintoff "Hero Of The Century" (August 7) does not in fact relate to Prime Minister Dom Mintoff's groundbreaking visit to China in 1972 as indicated by the caption.

The Chinese official seen in the photograph together with Mr Mintoff at Beijing Airport is the then Premier Huo Guofeng (the designated successor of Mao Zedong) and the picture relates to an official visit in November 1977.

I should know - as a 20-year old student at the Beijing Languages Institute, I was invited to be present at the airport to greet the Maltese delegation.

It was a very exciting moment for me, particularly when Mr Mintoff told me there and then on the tarmac that he was bearing coffee for me from my mum!

At the time, western commodities were rare in China and, without my knowledge, my mother had taken the initiative to ask the Office of the Prime Minister whether the delegation could carry some coffee for her son in Beijing. You can imagine how surprised and grateful I was when Mr Mintoff handed over the coffee.

There are some advantages to being from a small country after all.