But if the chief executive and most ministers had declined the invitation, it would have been interpreted as a fresh sign of the longstanding trouble in their relationship.

Like it or not, Donald Tsang and the DAB will remain vulnerable to the so-called politics of hearsay that engulfs the city's political landscape.

Hearsay politics was in full, if bizarre, force when local deputies to the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference prepared for their annual plenums this month.

On the eve of Mr Tsang's trip to Beijing, rumours circulated that some pro-Beijing figures planned to mount a campaign against him during the conference.

Such talk was linked to his alleged bias towards the democratic camp, in appointing political aides. Tsang Yok-sing wrote a harsh criticism of the appointment of former Democrat Lau Sai-leung as a full member of the Central Policy Unit. He said Mr Lau was antagonistic towards the traditional pro-Beijing camp.

That criticism was cited as evidence of an anti-Tsang campaign, but the chief executive quickly trashed that particular conspiracy theory. Instead, he hinted that the campaign had been cooked up by the rival democratic camp.

Another line of thinking was that the whole anti-Tsang saga was orchestrated by Donald Tsang himself, and his close allies, to silence those criticising him from within the pro-Beijing camp. Such winds of hearsay politics are blowing through the city's political landscape, animating various arenas of power interplay.

Take the drama at the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. Senior managers were reportedly emboldened by the suspicion that chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun no longer enjoyed the government's full backing. He had been appointed by the previous administration, five years ago.

Some Chinese-language newspapers, quoting unnamed sources, claimed that the transport minister, Sarah Liao Sau-tung, had smelled a rat before the senior management launched their mutiny. Reports said she made no attempt to block the move - because of long-standing discord with Mr Tien and being on less than good terms with Mr Tsang. Dr Liao's office has denied the claims.

The media is obliged to try to separate truth from hearsay, half-truths and lies. Journalists must not be blinded by bias or surrender to the temptation to dramatise and sensationalise. Doing so borders on misleading the public.

Referring to the anti-Donald Tsang campaign, Tsang Yok-sing, however, was hardly giving a fair, well-rounded judgment when he ridiculed journalists for cooking up and spreading rumours.

Hearsay continues to be generated because the government, political parties and some media tend to see politics as mostly about posturing, packaging and spinning than addressing the substance of issues.

In the long run, the public should be forgiven for feeling cynical and distrustful about the deeds and words of political players in the make-believe theatre of Hong Kong politics.

Chris Yeung is the Post's editor-at-large