The hundreds of accountants, guests and media types waiting for Premier Zhu Rongji to give his keynote speech at the opening of the 16th World Congress of Accountants got all worked up about nothing yesterday morning. The master of ceremonies, a Phoenix television personality, asked everyone to stand and welcome Mr Zhu, but a few moments later she called for a halt to the VIP music. The people walking up the red carpet looked reasonably important, but Mr Zhu was not among them. Our correspondents among the audience, who had arrived an hour early to pass through the rigorous security checks, stirred restlessly at this false alarm. Or was it? With all the careful planning that went into this event, was it possible Mr Zhu's entry went exactly as planned? We are convinced it was a kind of soft entry, a primer for the audience to be ready for the real Mr Zhu, who arrived a few minutes later. It has to be a difficult job running a nation as big as China, but its top politicians have held on to their sense of humour. Minister of Finance Xiang Huaicheng, in reply to a door-stopping reporter's plea for a response along the lines of 'Oh, how difficult a reporter's job is', shot back: 'My life is also difficult, I have another meeting to attend immediately after this.' With that, he graciously offered a few minutes of his time for media questions. McDonald's alert: Our recent items on McDonald's expansion in China and the scary McDonald's MTR train continue to generate reaction from readers. One reader, Herb Marti, thinks we have been too nice to the fast-food giant. He told us he was only partly joking when he wrote: 'Two lazy columns extolling McDonald's disgusting fare is quite enough! If you have no other material and continue to advertise this company, Lai See should more appropriately appear in the classified section.' Really, Mr Marti? We should point out we would never advertise anything in this column, but we reserve the right to alert readers to exciting opportunities in the market, such as the succulent and very convenient De Luxe breakfast number 5. Another reader thinks Lai See has been unduly critical of McDonald's. 'I just think it's totally unfair to criticise the fast-food restaurant like that. (Like what?) McDonald's is all over the place and doing well, so HELLO, obviously the majority loves it.' The miffed reader continues: 'Now people even criticise their advertising. 'What, they're repelled by mere pictures of burgers and fries? It's utter madness.' Whew, and we thought we were just reporting on our favourite company! Advertising ploy: Reader Peter Bakker, circulation director, Asia-Pacific for The Economist, brought a load of clever direct marketing material to the Lai See office yesterday. His visit followed our report yesterday about the personalised headline material he sent us. Mr Bakker told us The Economist and its creative agency, Ogilvy & Mather, sometimes cause more of a stir than they intend with their special messages to prospective subscribers. Last year, they dreamed up a plan to send out Inter-Office Envelopes, with a tick list of previous famous recipients, including George W. Bush and Nelson Mandela. The prospects around Asia saw their own real names at the bottom of the list, with previous recipients' names crossed off. The only reference to The Economist was a tiny return address. All very amusing and attention-grabbing, except . . . the envelopes were sent out at the height of the anthrax scare and one important recipient in the Philippines called the police, who called in chemicals experts, and it was covered on national television. The marketers at the magazine were initially concerned someone might have tampered with their trick envelopes, but the envelope finally tested okay. 'We may do something similar again,' Mr Bakker told us. 'We continue to explore new methods of direct marketing.' Graphic: whee20gbz