What do the democracy reforms mean for the people of Hong Kong?’ a London banker friend asked me in 1992 as Britain was preparing to hand back its colony to China. Only three years earlier, China had become a global pariah by its forceful ending of the Tiananmen Square protests. Yet, in five years’ time, Britain was to hand over control of its biggest remaining colony to the Chinese communist dictatorship.
The optics among British voters were appalling. How could the government allow such a ruthless regime to run Hong Kong? So, Chris Patten, a top-flight Conservative politician, was sent in as Hong Kong’s last governor. Patten’s job was to re-write the narrative so Britain could stage an honourable withdrawal. […]
Leave a Reply