After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the top leadership of the two policing systems of Hong Kong Island and the Mainland immediately moved on to a warm, friendly meal together.
Under normal circumstances, an official police exchange visit between the two sides would certainly begin with a welcoming meeting.
However, the Hong Kong Island Police Force delegation had landed at a rather coincidental time.
By the time Zhou Quan and the others arrived outside the Ministry of Public Security's Police Headquarters Building, it was precisely the ministry's lunch hour.
Minister Hao Jianguo simply invited Zhou Quan and the other senior Hong Kong Island Police Force officers to the cafeteria, preparing to give the delegation a welcoming meal.
Although lunch was not a relatively grand, formal welcoming banquet, and the venue was not one of the capital's famous hotels or restaurants, it was merely a simple meal in the Ministry of Public Security's internal cafeteria.
Still, the cooks responsible for preparing lunch had clearly put thought into it, serving both lightly flavored Cantonese cuisine and several classic northern dishes.
"Comrades from the Hong Kong Island Police Force, on behalf of every police officer in the Ministry of Public Security, I welcome you home."
Once everyone was seated, Minister Hao Jianguo raised his glass and, beaming, opened the meal for this exchange visit between the two regions.
Of course, his glass was filled with nothing but fruit juice, without any alcohol whatsoever.
The disciplinary regulations implemented in Mainland China the previous year strictly prohibited police officers from drinking during working hours or at lunchtime on working days.
As the highest-ranking official in the Public Security System, Minister Hao Jianguo naturally had to lead by example.
As for the Hong Kong Island Police Force, its Police Force Regulations contained no such provisions.
Yet