All eyes were on Premier Wen Jiabao's last post-NPC press conference on Wednesday. But Wen, 70 in September and a year from retirement after nine years in the job, gave a much less energetic performance than usual in his three-hour press conference at the conclusion of the annual National People's Congress session.
Wen adopted a humble, resigned approach. He asked that after he died people forget about him and the good he achieved, and repeated vague calls for political reform.
Even though he has continued to exhibit a photographic memory, great analytical skills, an impressive grasp of detail and a passion for poetry and aphoristic quotes, his political lustre has dimmed with each passing year.
In a sign that high office has taken its toll, Wen spoke more slowly this year, with frequent, long pauses. While it took him two hours to address 15 questions at his first press conference nine years ago, he spent three full hours answering the same number of questions this year.
It was quite a contrast to his carefully crafted image as an energetic and passionate leader, something that brought him closer to the people in his early years in office.
'[Wen] is the human face of the current administration, frequently appearing on television comforting ordinary people who have suffered some natural or man-made disaster,' said Professor Susan Shirk, a former US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia who now teaches at the University of California, San Diego. 'He is the one leader of his generation who has sought to build popular support for the Communist Party [and for himself] by becoming a media personality.'
The premier's annual press conference, broadcast live on television, radio and the internet, has long been one of the most watched events of the year on the mainland.