The Hong Kong Diaries / Chris Patten

A blockbuster record from the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten

In June 1992, Patten took office in Hong Kong and became the last Governor of Hong Kong. The biggest task of his term was to prepare for the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty. Over the next five years, he continued to record the operational details of the Hong Kong government, the process of the transfer of sovereignty, and the struggles between the parties in this diary.

This work provides first-hand observation of this important historical event and chronicles the deepening of Hong Kong's democratic system and Patten's efforts to ensure that Hong Kong maintained a high degree of autonomy after 1997. During this period, he encountered unexpected resistance, not only from the Chinese, but also from British businessmen and civil servants.

Concluding with what happened in Hong Kong after the handover of sovereignty, this book is a must-read for understanding Hong Kong's history and recent situations. Patten also left his personal insights on how to deal with China at that time and now. (Compiled by text/blog)

The diaries of the last British Governor of Hong Kong, published on the 25th anniversary of the handover

In June 1992 Chris Patten went to Hong Kong as the last British governor, to try to prepare it not (as other British colonies over the decades) for independence, but for handing back in 1997 to the Chinese, from whom most of its territory had been leased 99 years previously. Over the next five years he kept this diary, which describes in detail how Hong Kong was run as a British colony and what happened as the handover approached. The book gives unprecedented insights into negotiating with the Chinese, about how the institutions of democracy in Hong Kong were (belatedly) strengthened and how Patten sought to ensure that a strong degree of self-government would continue after 1997. Unexpectedly, his opponents included not only the Chinese themselves, but some British businessmen and civil service mandarins upset by Patten's efforts, for whom political freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong seemed less important than keeping on the right side of Beijing. The book concludes with an account of what has happened in Hong Kong since the handover, a powerful assessment of recent events and Patten's reflections on how to deal with China - then and now.