Xi shows who’s boss: Hong Kong’s Leung Chun-ying knocked off his perch to smaller seat

The method of delivery may have been oblique but the message was unequivocal.
Etiquette took centre stage yesterday when in a carefully calibrated act of political choreography, Beijing put the SAR firmly in its place.
The occasion was Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s annual duty visit to the capital , a path well trodden by his predecessors, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and Tung Chee-hwa.

But in a move that reignited debate over the “one country, two systems” constitutional arrangement, Beijing chose who sat where, on what, and in which surroundings, to underline who is the boss.
At previous annual meetings, Hong Kong’s chief executive sat side-by-side with state leaders on identical grand chairs, an ornate table between them, much like the arrangement for overseas leaders visiting Beijing. But this time things were different.
READ MORE: Leung Chun-ying’s shift of power seats sparks debate on Hong Kong Chief Executive’s footing with Xi Jinping
