All of it was accomplished with, if not flair, at least a certain understanding of public relations that had long been absent in Beijing's diplomatic posture.
World champion Cavendish had been strongly tipped to finally claim the Olympic medal that had eluded him at the 2008 Games in Beijing, where he was the only member of Britain's track cycling team to return from the games without a medal.
Cambodia said on Sunday that Asean nations had agreed not to "internationalise" the issue, something Beijing has been pushing for.
Murray's surprise third-round defeat by Stanislas Wawrinka at Flushing Meadows last month had been followed by a listless display against Ivan Ljubicic in Beijing just nine days ago, but a kind draw in Shanghai helped the Scot work his way back into some form during the early rounds and secure a place at the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals in London.
BBC: Andy Murray beats Roger Federer to win Shanghai Masters
Murray, the world number four, has been without a coach since sacking Miles Maclagan in July and had been hoping to appoint a replacement before his next tournament in Beijing, which begins on 4 October, but a decision is not imminent.
The students had just been released last Thursday, after spending a week at a Beijing hotel in quarantine over H1N1 fears.
In Beijing the restaurant owner, who gave his name only as Wang, told AFP he had not been asked to remove the sign by any officials.
Mr Thomas acknowledged the students had initially been told there was one journalist but that, when they were in Beijing before flying into Pyongyang, they were told there would be three journalists.
Huang had been in close contact with ducks at a market in Hebei Province, which neighbors Beijing, on December 19.
On the opposite side you find athletes like 19-year-old Kenyan Pamela Jelimo who, having been thrust into sporting superstardom in her home country after winning 800m gold in Beijing, had a tough winter and is only just beginning to get back into shape.
Moscow has had agreements with Beijing to build a gas pipeline into China since 2002, but the two sides have been haggling ever since over the price of the gas supplies.
The protesters, late last year, were the owners of smart new properties in the Atlantic Place apartment complex in north-eastern Beijing, who objected when they discovered that the parkland, lake, tennis courts, swimming pools and clubhouse they had been promised were being scaled back in favour of more flats.
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