Constitutionally, Li Keqiang is sort of somewhere between George Osborne and Nick Clegg. Can't se this happening with either of them.
After Li and the other vice premiers left the venue, many reporters rushed to the stage to snatch up pencils and papers used by top officials. At the same time, several female reporters aimed for things bigger than stationary – they wanted the bottle of mineral water that Li drank from. Li was reportedly pouring water into a glass so that his lips never touched his bottle. At the end, a lady in a white jacket got to the bottle first, and began drinking!
Reminds me of the black market in Lourdes water we used to have at Christian Brothers school.
A nitpick: the actual Chinese text from the linked article only mentions the lady stuffing the bottle into her handbag. Still, the source confesses to be completely baffled by the event!
Posted by: ripvantear | March 19, 2013 at 12:35 PM
US Presidents since Clinton (for some reason) appear to have taken steps to stop the hoi polloi getting their hands - and then their DNA sequencers - on their saliva. Do Chinese leaders do the same thing?
Posted by: Chris Williams | March 19, 2013 at 03:42 PM
On one hand, there's the Boys From Brazil scenario. On a more plausible version, knowing that the US president has some hidden genetic syndrome might be...useful. Naming no presidents with Addison's Disease.
Posted by: Richard J | March 19, 2013 at 08:44 PM