A Chinese curse that afflicts visiting Irish ministers has befallen a second member of the Government.
The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, arrived in Beijing yesterday for the start of an official visit to the East - without her luggage and the gifts she was bearing for her Chinese counterparts.
Ms de Valera's bags, and the luggage of all her entourage, were left behind in Paris by Air France when the group changed flights for the Chinese capital.
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, suffered the same fate when she led a trade mission to Beijing in September. On that occasion all her luggage was left behind in Paris and a tailor had to be drafted in at short notice.
Air France was in the bad books again with Irish embassy officials in Paris and Beijing. After the Tanaiste's experience last year they had impressed upon the airline the importance of the luggage arriving on the same flight as the Minister. But to no avail.
Luckily, Ms de Valera learned from Ms Harney's misfortune and she brought a change of clothes on the aircraft - just in case.
A spokesman for the Minister said last night that the missing luggage had seriously inconvenienced her and her party of six, some of whom went to a Beijing market yesterday to buy a change of clothes. Air France has promised the missing bags will turn up today.
One of the missing suitcases contained gifts from Ms de Valera for Chinese cultural officials, including Irish music CDs and books on Irish heritage.
Ms de Valera was met on her arrival at Beijing yesterday by the Deputy Director General of the West European Division of the Bureau of External Cultural Relations of the Ministry of Culture, Mr Dong Jun Xin.
Today, Ms de Valera will have talks with the Minister of Culture, Mr Sun Jiazheng, and officials. They will discuss possible areas of co-operation between Ireland and China across various cultural fields. A cultural agreement between the two countries was signed in 1985.
The Minister will later visit the Chinese history museum and tonight will attend the opera at the Liyuan Theatre.
Tomorrow, Ms de Valera visits the Great Wall, and the Irish Ambassador to China, Mr Declan Connolly, hosts a reception in her honour at the Irish Embassy. Other guests will be representatives of the Chinese cultural community.
The Minister goes to Shanghai on Thursday where she will meet the vice-mayor, Mr Bei Zhao Jian, who has responsibility for radio, film and TV in the city.