The annual press conference of Premier Wen Jiabao, broadcast live on television, radio and the internet, is always considered the climax marking the end of the 10-day annual session of the National People's Congress.
This is not just because it is the only occasion all year that the Chinese premier faces a grilling from a dozen selected mainland and overseas reporters. The live, two-hour press conference is also the only occasion that lets ordinary mainlanders have a first-hand look at an unvarnished performance by one of the mainland's top leaders.
Since 2003, when Wen gave his first press conference as premier, he has developed a reputation for giving open and often passionate answers, laced with the extensive quotes from ancient and contemporary Chinese and foreign philosophers and economists.
But judging from his performance yesterday, Wen appears to have lost some of his passion with just two years left in office. And just as noteworthy, it appears that overseas reporters have lost interest in posing tough questions over the sensitive issues of Tibet and human rights.
Yesterday marked the third anniversary of deadly anti-government unrest that first broke out in Lhasa and then spread to other Tibetan areas. It was also the day that the exiled Tibetan parliament opened a session to discuss the Dalai Lama's plan to step down.
None of the overseas reporters who were called upon even used the opportunity to ask about China's stance on nuclear power development given the rising international concern over a possible meltdown at one of Japan's nuclear power plants.