APEC leaders stand 'tall' in Bangkok

APEC leaders stand 'tall' in Bangkok

Heightism has found a profile at the Pacific Rim summit. In a break from tradition, leaders will not stand in alphabetical order for their annual group photograph but will be arranged to ensure the tall do not hide the short.

A year ago in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos, diminutive Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her slightly taller Indonesian counterpart, Megawati Soekarnoputri, were eclipsed in the back row by taller male colleagues.

So Thailand has used digital technology this year to produce a mock-up of where leaders will stand for their group photograph -- with Arroyo and Megawati to the fore, flanking their host, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Imposing figures such as Canada's Jean Chretien and Singapore's Goh Chok Tong will stand in the back row.

And Chinese President Hu Jintao will be smiling, not only because he will be in the front but also because the change in the alphabetical systems means the delegate of arch-rival Taiwan -- Nobel Prize-winning chemist Lee Yuan-tseh representing Taiwan -- will no longer stand next to the U.S. President. -- Reuters