Citizen journalism: no sign of either Sai Mizzi or a Malta consulate at the Magnolia Plaza

A reader of this website, who was in Shanghai for business this week, took it upon himself to save me the trouble and expense of flying out myself with my camera and trusty notebook to check out Mrs Konrad Mizzi’s office (not that they’ll give me a visa again at this rate) and took a taxi out for a recce.

He sent in the photographs shown here, and the following email.

Dear Daphne,

I hope this email finds you well. I just got back home from a short business trip to Shanghai. I paid a visit to the address given as the Maltese Consulate there:

11th Floor Unit 7
Magnolia Plaza 777
Hongqiao Road
Xuhui District

Here is what I found.

•Magnolia Plaza consists of two towers: 1 business tower, which includes a ‘shopping plaza’, and 1 residential tower. The ‘shopping plaza’ is deserted; no shops or any commercial activity can be observed. See the attached picture: the residential tower is on the right; the business tower on the left.

•I went to the business tower to enquire about the Maltese Consulate. I explained that I am a Maltese citizen and said that I have just moved to Shanghai. To enter the business tower I had to sign in through security. The person at the reception desk (who spoke very average English) had no idea about any Maltese Consulate in the building. I even tried showing her my passport, but no luck with that either.

•There is a board in the main reception area that lists all the businesses present in the building, but there is no Maltese Consulate on that board. Unit 1107 (Floor 11 Suite 7) shows no occupancy on that board.

My feeling is that the consulate does not exist in the business tower but is actually an apartment in the residential tower. Unfortunately I could not go up into the residential tower to confirm this.

I hope that this information I have provided comes in useful.

Sincere regards,

(Name not being published)

The sign-board in the business tower lobby does not have a Maltese consulate listed, and the number given as the address for the Maltese consulate – as provided by the Maltese government to the Shanghai local administration and listed on its website, is shown as vacant

The deserted shopping plaza that has no shops or commercial life

The man under the umbrella is where you sign in for security clearance to enter the business tower

This is the residential tower

This is the entrance to the business tower