Tobacco boss wins role in Zemin's visit

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

This story is a couple weeks old.

Robert Weissman
Essential Information			|   Internet:	rob@essential.org


The Independent - 21 October 1999

Tobacco boss wins role in Zemin's visit

By Fran Abrams, Westminster Correspondent

The head of Britain's biggest tobacco company is playing a key role in the
Chinese President's state visit through a business forum set up by Tony
Blair,
it emerged last night.

Anti-smoking campaigners reacted with fury to news that the chief executive
of
British American Tobacco (BAT) will chair the industry sub-committee of the
new
UK China Forum.

Martin Broughton, who has been closely involved in promoting tobacco in
China,
was also a guest at a state banquet for President Jiang Zemin on Tuesday.

Clive Bates, director of Action on Smoking and Health, has written to the
Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, objecting to the tobacco company's leading
role
in strengthening UK business links with China, the world's biggest market
for
tobacco.

Mr Bates has asked Mr Cook to remove Mr Broughton from the industry
committee.
"We would like to think that Britain has something better to offer China and
Tibet than cancer, heart disease, emphysema and addiction," he wrote.

But the Foreign Office said his appointment was out of its hands. He was
given
the role by Michael Heseltine, the former Tory deputy prime minister, who
heads
the task force.

BAT said Mr Broughton was involved in an international business leaders'
council
set up by the Chinese Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, when the latter was mayor
of
Shanghai. Mr Rongji launched the UK China Business Forum with Mr Blair
during a
visit by the UK Prime Minister last Autumn.