After Uncle Tung has received his presents from the provinces of China, the presents will continue to come.
Various large companies have been devising plans to make patriotic, expensive gifts or donations to celebrate the handover.
Hongkong Telecom is going to present him with a nice big painting of the Hong Kong skyline. Some of the banks are thinking of giving him something to do with banknotes (no, not a suitcase full of crisp $500 bills.) Meanwhile, Jardine Matheson is giving him nothing.
The problem is that some companies didn't realise they were supposed to give gifts. They thought that they had celebrated enough by putting a few Bauhinia flowers on the outside of the corporate HQ and ripping off their customers with 'limited edition 1997' products.
At least one is desperately casting around for a suitable tribute.
The underling given the unenviable job of finding it was told: 'It has to be large and in poor taste.' Flag daze: The great minds in charge of the handover ceremony have managed to solve one of the Unsolved Mysteries of Physics.