Marathon handover celebrations in China have attracted the global spotlight both to Hong Kong and intriguing developments in the Chinese Communist Party.
While nationwide festivities the past week were dazzling and superbly scripted, it is important to note the extent of the galas and fireworks had, until recently, been a matter of controversy within the leadership.
Moderate cadres and government advisers had urged that only a small number of cities be allowed to put out the bunting and ticker-tape. Earlier this year, the mainland media listed the privileged cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and a couple of others.
Apart from considerations of frugality, Beijing had reasons aplenty to contain the scale of the celebrations.
One of the central Government's key Hong Kong policies is to stop the influx of cadres and citizens into the Special Administrative Region.
In the run-up to July 1, soldiers and police along the southeast coast were given strict orders to stop human trafficking into Hong Kong. The alert will be heightened in the coming months.