On Monday, “Grandfather Wen”, as Wen Jiabao is known, holds his annual press conference at the close of the National People’s Congress. With a captive audience running to hundreds of millions, China’s premier will be in command of a bully pulpit of awesome dimensions.

The forum’s reach is palpable for anyone who manages to get heard during the live coverage. Disenfranchised peasants were still calling the Financial Times Beijing office with invitations to investigate official corruption in their villages two years after I asked Mr Wen at the press conference about illegal land seizures in rural areas.