The Hong Kong Diaries

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Robin Cook phoned me. He’s on his first day in the Foreign Office. He assured me that there would be continuity of policy and that he would welcome me staying at my post. He asked my advice on whether Tony Blair should come out for the handover. I said that I hoped on balance that he would. I think that Robin Cook is an impressive man – clear, sharp-witted and (I would guess) decisive. He may well be nicer than he seems, even though he has a visceral dislike of Tories. Thursday 8 May Patten's diaries over the next five years describe in detail his day-to-day battles with the Chinese ... a terrific tale, one that will appeal not just to Sinologists but to all historians, since it is effectively a record of the end days of an empire ... At times, the diaries read like a novel ... His chatty style makes the[m] an easy read Simon Murray, Daily Telegraph Much of the time during the summer is spent saying goodbye to our friends and our daughters Kate and Laura. It is going to feel horribly like the break-up for the time being of a very close family. Kate is in Uruguay as part of a gap year between school and Newcastle University. Laura has decided that she doesn’t want to come to Hong Kong to work or study. She is set on going to the superb Prue Leith cookery school in London. On the other hand, British operate from a different cultural history where there is far more emphasis on the sanctity of written contracts. Given British confidence in their legal system, it is often assumed that all aspects of a contract should be honored and violations settled in court. The differences in the rule of law and justice system between the UK and China can be seen in Patten’s conversation with Lu Ping. As widely known, British jurisdiction system lies in common law tradition, while in China, people are governed by the rules of the Chinese Communist Party. In one conversation, Patten mentioned the rule of law, and reports that “Lu said, but we have the rule of law too”. Patten replied, “[No,] you have rule by law” (p.72). One way The Diaries reveals the impact of culture is its documentation of the differences in negotiating styles. Patten documents how British negotiators often disclose large amounts of information during negotiations, and also often let the rivals know their intentions.

Hong Kong's last British governor accuses Beijing of 'vengefully' targeting city's freedoms - Hong Kong Free Press HKFP Close All my briefings make me realise the conflicting pressures that I will be under. In Hong Kong itself people both want a quiet life with China and at the same time a Governor who is prepared to stand up to China on their behalf. It is obviously perfectly possible to construct a wholly rational policy which will fall somewhere between the Bishop Muzorewas and the Mr Mugabes of Hong Kong. But since we need a majority to get business through the Legislative Council, this will produce some problems for Hong Kong’s executive. While authorities say it has restored stability and peace to the city, critics say the legislation has silenced civil society groups and prompted censorship in cultural spaces, including at bookstores. A Commercial Press bookstore. Photo: Commercial Press Publishing, via Facebook. So you have a former publisher of the hard-right Wall Street Journal repeating them: “These Chinese Communist Party curses [sinner, prostitute, etc] testify to Chris Patten’s performance as the last British governor of Hong Kong and Cassandra of its recent destruction at the hands of China’s leaders in Beijing. Mr Patten’s The Hong Kong Diaries, compiled from the journal he kept during his 1992-97 governorship, details his persistent but ultimately failed efforts to secure the continuance of Hong Kong’s freedoms.”Beyond doubt, Chris Patten as the last governor of Hong Kong has leave some indelible marks in the city, which has always been a key player in global economy and, lately, politics. It is within readers' expectation to get some insights from his book on the past, present and future of Hong Kong. However, this book will probably disappoint everyone who wish to learn more about the city through his writing. Patten’s diaries over the next five years describe in detail his day-to-day battles with the Chinese. Hong Kong was the last pillar of empire to fall, but for the first time the British were not giving a colony its independence, but rather handing it over to a foreign country – and a ferociously Communist country at that. This meant we had to leave Hong Kong with honour, and their people safe and sound, governed by the rule of law, with their freedom and way of life preserved as best we could. We could not do what is known today in French as a “Manoeuvre Afghan”. The Lord of the Jungle roars into town. Hezza [Michael Heseltine] arrived just before Friday lunchtime after a week in China with nearly 300 British businessmen. I like Michael, who has always been kind to me and loyal. He is brazenly broad brush and sometimes hams things up pretty outrageously. But he’s one of the few ‘big beasts’ in British politics. A Hezza premiership would certainly have had a lot of flash, bang and sometimes wallop, but on most of the big things he is absolutely right. The ambassador said afterwards that no Chinese official would ever have heard anything like this before. I think it’s the style of what I said rather than the content that he is referring to. I don’t think I’ve been remotely rude, at least I hope not. Thursday 22 October I hope she won’t mind too much the fact that one of her sisters will be in Newcastle and the other in Hong Kong, because that is what our youngest Alice has decided she wants to do. I think most parents sooner or later come to understand that as their children grow older they morph from colonial dependencies into rival sovereignties. Sunday 5 July

Thinking about Lu in retrospect I found myself rather puzzled. He’s obviously highly intelligent, sophisticated and charming with some civilised tastes – not least his love of classical music. But maybe because of ill-health and an unhappy family life, he obviously has a very short temper and a highly developed sense of amour propre. I guess one should also make allowance for the fact that he was brought up in Shanghai, subjected like so many other Chinese to overt racism by the dominant Europeans. I have dealt with far more dislikeable people in my life, but far more likeable Chinese ones as well. Monday 26–Thursday 29 October As an insider's account, The Hong Kong Diaries is filled with that daily sense of grappling with a multi-headed hydra ... There is an inescapable poignancy to reading this diary in 2022: it is a snapshot of a unique moment at the end of empire, and a now fading picture of an extraordinary society that flourished in its brief moment of freedom. Lord Patten spent much of his time in Hong Kong struggling against British officials and members of the local elite who believed it was not worth trying to push China to accept more democracy in pre-handover Hong Kong-much less expanding it without China's approval. Some of the most riveting detail in this rich volume relates to these tensions. ... The author's entertaining language brings these diaries to life. Patten said Xi must learn “what an incredibly dangerous enterprise it would be” after seeing the difficulties the Russian army has faced in Ukraine and the world’s reaction. Beijing claims all of the island as its own territory, and has said it is determined to retake it, by force if necessary. Chris Patten. File Photo: Tom Grundy/HKFP.

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I woke at about 4.15am, my arms and hands rigid with adrenaline. The message for the day was, ‘we are making a fresh start with China’. The Prime Minister took me on one side and said that he hoped they could square this message with the expression of a lasting commitment to Hong Kong. I think he’s genuine about this and that he is trying to be courteous to me as well. There is also a rather large amount of triviality peppered in the entries, things like pets, parties and tennis lessons, etc. They seemed to be superfluous distractions at first, but by the end of the book, they collectively served a purpose of painting a human picture of the author, his private personality beyond his official roles. Extraordinary negotiations about whether the Archbishop should stay in GH when he is here. The local bishop has said that he shouldn’t come near GH because it will be bad for relations with China. It all seems a long way from the delegation of Anglican bishops who came to see me before I left for Hong Kong, urging me to stand up for Hong Kong’s democracy and civil liberties. Sunday 17 December We celebrated Alice’s birthday by going out for dinner. Before that we had to attend the China National Day reception - not part of any sentient human being’s idea of celebration. The evening was as ghastly as ever, but Zhou Nan was on best behaviour and his wife is a genuinely nice woman. I hope that I managed to get away with it; it helped to have Lavender with me. Perhaps Zhou Nan feels the same about the two of us as I do about him and his wife. Starting the Countdown: May 1995–May 1996 Thursday 7 September In Patten's diaries we see everyone from Mother Teresa to Margaret Thatcher passing through the governor's living room ... Eschewing the feathered hat, the uniform and all the other flummery that goes with governing an outpost of the British empire, he plunges into a series of walkabouts, holds public meetings, looks for ways of redistributing some wealth and makes no secret of his sympathy for the democrats.