Guests and media were taken aback somewhat at the Hong Kong Dance Festival's opening ceremony on Sunday afternoon. Before the event began at the Academy of Performing Arts, the national anthem suddenly started playing. Normally, there's no need for such political gestures - nobody sang La Marseillaise at Le French May's launch - but given the VIP mainland delegates present, perhaps it was the astute thing to do.
Present were Jia Zuoguang, honorary president of the Chinese Dancers' Association; Hu Zhenmin, deputy minister of publicity for the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee; and, arriving late and unexpected, Lu Xinhua , commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in the city. The festival's honorary president, Anna Pao Sohmen (left), had to dash off the stage to welcome Lu, which made for awkward moments when APA director Kevin Thompson thanked Pao Sohmen for her work and sang his praises to an empty chair. Clearly, Professor Pao Sohmen knows who not to offend.