'EVERYONE will be very happy if they can meet.' Legislator Frederick Fung Kin-kee might have been stating the obvious when commenting on the failure of the long-awaited meeting between Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang and the Director of the Chinese State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Lu Ping, to materialise, but it is a view shared by most Hong Kongers.
But how many of them are conscious of the underlying significance of such a rendezvous? There will be different interpretations if such a meeting finally takes place.
Some may say that it will augur well for improved Sino-British relations and civil servants' morale, yet others may suggest that it reflects Beijing's softening of its approach to the British Hong Kong administration.
The failure to arrange such a meeting is also open to different interpretations.
But really, if Mr Lu and Mrs Chan did meet, would that meeting be the cause or the effect of an improved Sino-British relationship? Or would it be an indicator of Beijing's receptiveness to senior Hong Kong officials? Judging from the developments in the past few weeks - Mr Lu's apparent shift of mood over whether to grant Mrs Chan an audience with him and the series of unannounced closed-door dinner parties between President Jiang Zemin's aide, Li Chuwen, and the scores of top local officials in Hong Kong in late April - it seems that China's thinking over how to handle the civil service issue is more complicated than was expected.
Ever since her appointment as Chief Secretary in 1993, Mrs Chan has made no bones about her intention to visit China and meet mainland officials. The open appeals went unheeded.
Seizing the opportunity of Mr Lu's visit to the territory this week, Mrs Chan and Governor Chris Patten pressed even harder.