Student Rosanna Man Pui-shan taught Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa a good lesson - that petitions and protests have become such a daily feature of Hong Kong life that even a young student like her did not feel intimidated to exercise her civic right in front of authorities.
Mr Tung was said to have been stunned when she handed him a petition explaining her plight of losing her sixth-form place at her old school, even though she scored eight HKCEE Grade As.
The occasion that they met, a gathering arranged for Mr Tung to meet a group of 171 outstanding students, was supposed to be a great honour for the 16-year-old. Social niceties were expected.
But Rosanna stuck to principle and raised her grievance with Mr Tung. It was an opportunity too precious to waste.
The surprise encounter should remind Mr Tung of any apprehension he may have in keeping direct contacts with members of the public. Since he took the helm, Mr Tung has by and large dodged protesters and petitioners. This is understandable because direct public confrontation with people who find faults with him or his administration is embarrassing.
For a conservative person like Mr Tung, the best place to sort out differences is behind closed doors. Perhaps it is this style that prompted the latest suggestion that he is going to drop the option of holding public meetings to explain his maiden policy address next month.
His planned post-address publicity programme is said to be three-pronged: a press conference, question-time session with the provisional legislature, and radio phone-in session.