A senior civil servant promoting Hong Kong in the United States holds a higher rank than his apparent boss.
Chris Jackson, director-general of Economic and Trade Affairs in Washington, is ranked D6 on the civil service pay scale in a post which could be filled by an officer ranked as low as D4.
Mr Jackson's 'boss', Commissioner for Economic and Trade Affairs Kenneth Pang Tsan-wing, is ranked at D4 but is in a D6 post.
A D6 officer is paid $162,650 per month, while a D4 gets $145,150 - although the actual salary varies according to length of service.
A former acting secretary for the civil service, Mr Jackson joined the service in 1976 and was posted to Washington in 1996 as a D4 officer. He was promoted after the appeal court ruled that some localisation measures, including restrictions on promotions, were illegal.
It is not the first anomaly in rankings within the Washington operation. The post of commissioner was upgraded to D8 when it was filled by former secretary for the civil service Barrie Wiggham from 1993 to 1996.
The position was downgraded upon Mr Pang's arrival.