Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Beijing was allowing the Kitty Hawk and the other ships in its strike group to enter Hong Kong on humanitarian grounds, after they left.
The USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and several support vessels, including a nuclear submarine, were scheduled to dock in Hong Kong on Wednesday for a four-day visit. Hundreds of sailors' families had flown into the city to spend the holiday with their loved ones, while dozens of Americans living in Hong Kong had prepared turkey dinners for those on their own. They were refused to enter by the Chinese Government (Source: International Herald Tribune, Nov 21, 2007).