IT was almost possible to hear the chandeliers twinkle in the silence that greeted the election results - the anticipated, even feared, addition of pro-China elements to Hongkong's oldest trade association.
The Western chamber seemed a thing of the past, although the bulk of members attending yesterday's meeting had disappeared by the time the final results came through.
Only about 100 businessmen and women remained in the red-carpeted ballroom, nervously clutching glasses of orange and tomato juice and wearing the strained smiles of patients in a dentist's waiting room.
If it was a coup, it was Hongkong-style. No blood, no banshee wails and no overturning of the buffet. But people did stop eating.
Chairman Mr Paul Cheng Ming-fun read out the names of his new team without a trace of emotion.
At a press conference interestingly convened before the election, Mr Cheng pooh-poohed the notion of pro-China.
''What does it mean? We are going to be part of China in a few years,'' he scoffed.