East and West: The Last Governor of Hong Kong on Power, Freedom and the Future 0-7710-6974-X

Table of contents :
Copyright......Page 8
Contents......Page 11
List of lllustrations......Page 13
Caveat Emptor......Page 15
I GOVERNING......Page 21
1 THE LAST GOVERNOR......Page 25
2 HONG KONG'S 'FATAL' YEAR......Page 52
3 COLONIAL QUESTIONS......Page 98
II THE VIEW FROM HONG KONG......Page 127
4 TIGER TALK......Page 131
5 ASIAN VALUES......Page 168
6 FREEDOM AND THE MARKET......Page 195
III LOOKING TO THE FUTURE......Page 227
7 NEW WORLD - OLD LESSONS......Page 231
8 HOW TO MAKE MONEY......Page 273
9 CHINA AND THE WEST......Page 305
10 BACK TO THE FUTURE......Page 343
Index......Page 359

Citation preview

$34.99 At midnight on 30 June 1997 over a century and a half of British rule over Hong Kong came to an end. On that unforgettable rain-sodden evening on the Hong Kong waterfront, watched by millions of people all over the world, the Union Flag was lowered, folded and received by Chris Patten, the colony's last governor. Unlike his immediate predecessors as governor, Chris Patten was not a career diplomat but an established politician, and a close friend of Prime Minister John .Major. From the start Patten decided that the most important action he could take during his governorship was to honour the promises made to the people of Hong Kong and introduce a measure of democracy before the hando,,er to China; and this he proceeded to do, despite opposition from both the Chinese authorities (which was to be expected) and many in Hong Kong and London (which was perhaps more surprising). In East and H7est Patten writes, frankly and directly, and for the first time, about his experiences as governor, about why he adopted the stance that he did, and about how he fought his battles. Anyone who was moved by the drama of 30 June - watched by millions of Canadians - will be ri,·eted by the account given here of the e,·ents that led up to it. But the bulk of the book is not about the past - it is about the present and the future. Patten found that the experience of Hong Kong allowed him to reflect- and in the end changed his views - on many of the most important questions which face all modern politicians. \\'hat are tl1e real sources of material prosperity of societies - societies, in (Continued on back flap)

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