【明報專訊】Xia Baolong, director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) has concluded his inspection trip to Hong Kong and returned to Beijing. Throughout his six-day visit, Xia's only instance of public speaking was a speech at the opening ceremony of the "National Security Education Day". The rest of his itinerary, including meeting locals, visiting schools and so forth, was rarely executed in the limelight. This shows that the trip was not a general visit but more of an inspection trip, which unavoidably leaves the public with a greater sense of detachment.