Exclusive: photographs of the official opening of Malta’s Shanghai office

The government failed to inform us that Malta’s consular office in Shanghai was officially opened this week.

Here are photographs of the occasion, taken covertly and supplied to this website by a member of my international worldwide network of spies, this time in Shanghai.

The photographs show Sai Mizzi declaring the office open, with a small party of guests, almost all of whom are Chinese. The exceptions include former Labour MP Salvu Sant, brother of the more notorious Lorry, who was appointed to the board of Enemalta Corporation – now owned mainly by China – by the incoming Labour government.

Why was he there?

Standing next to Salvu Sant: Enemalta’s director for business development, Kevin Chircop. Why does Enemalta have such a heavy presence there?

And is that Labour MP Charles Mangion standing next to Sai Mizzi? If so, why was he there?

The Foreign Minister is not present because he is currently in hospital in Beijing. It is now obvious, however, that his visit was timed so that he could be present at the opening of the new office, even though he has just told an interviewer from The Sunday Times of Malta that he has no idea where she is, how to reach her or what she does.

Malta’s ambassador to Beijing is not there either, even though he left office formally today.

It is now more apparent than ever that Mrs Mizzi went to Shanghai with a contract from Maltese Enterprise, is taking a salary and perks from Malta Enterprise but while there she was appointed Malta’s consul in Shanghai, which may have been the original purpose of sending there.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now obliged to clarify whether Mrs Mizzi is part of the diplomatic corps – in which case she cannot be paid by Malta Enterprise or work for them but must be accountable to the Foreign Ministry – or whether she is an honorary consul.

It is glaringly obvious from the photographs that Mrs Mizzi’s office is not a Malta Enterprise office but the Maltese Consulate in Shanghai. It is also clearly geared for the issuing of passports and visas, complete with fingerprint machine, and it doesn’t take much imagination to know what is about to happen: that Malta’s Consulate in Shanghai is to become a major route for Chinese people into the European Schengen Zone.