China's efforts to manipulate this weekend's HK elections have culminated in yesterday's visit to HK of all China's Olympic gold medallists. This is is to "repay the Hong Kong people for their support of our Olympic athletes". In other words to repay the patriotic fervour that enveloped Hong Kong during the weeks of the Games. Except Hong Kong had its own team in the Olympics and there are literally hundreds of other cities in China proper that are far more deserving of a visit of these athletes. I really wonder if any voters are thinking of voting for the pro-Beijing parties because of this?

Despite this ostensibly being about sport, there was a second act to the farce yesterday. A reporter for a Falun Gong linked TV station was barred from a press conference of the athletes. She was told her question would not be answered even though she was a part of the HK press corp. Her question was to be "whether high cash rewards have helped improved Chinese athletic standards and whether China, as a third world country, can afford such high monetary rewards," which is a damn fine question worthy of an answer. Of course this is the same third world country that send man into space for no good reason.

There is a lesson in all of this: the bravery of gold medal divers Guo Jingjing and Tian Liang. They are preparing to go where no Hong Konger has been prepared to go for weeks: its public swimming pools. Now that's patriotism.

But HK should be thankful: it's far better to suffer a charm offensive than the more typical Chinese offensive in sensitive political times.