Like many things in life, it was down to the personal relationship Juan Antonio Samaranch shared with A. de O. Sales that led to Hong Kong being guaranteed its sporting independence after the handover.
Sales, the former president of the Hong Kong National Olympic Committee, mourned the death of Samaranch this week, and called him 'a great friend of mine and a great friend of Hong Kong'.
At 90, Sales is a year older than Samaranch, who passed away on Wednesday. Still sharp of mind, Sales still manages to talk down the role he played in ensuring Hong Kong retained its independence and autonomy after 1997.
That year, on July 3, a few days after Chris Patten tearfully left Government House, Samaranch and Sales met at the old Ritz Carlton Hotel in Central to sign a document that guaranteed Hong Kong would continue to take part as a separate National Olympic Committee.
For one fleeting moment, it seemed there would be a problem - a comma was missing between the words Hong Kong and China in the document. Con Conway, Sales' right-hand man, was tasked with changing the draft.
The document confirmed the Hong Kong Olympic Committee would add 'China' to its name, and Hong Kong would continue to compete in major sports events as a separate entity. We were to be called Hong Kong, China. Samaranch signed the document drafted by Sales.