The Last Governor: Chris Patten and the Handover of Hong Kong

By Jonathan Dimbleby

Book Overview

Using unrivalled access to Chris Patten, Britain's last governor of Hong Kong, Jonathan Dimbleby provides a compelling narrative of a great political and human drama: the final chapter in Britain's colonial history, the five years leading up to the handover of Hong Kong and its five million people to Communist China on July 1, 1997. Since 1992 Dimbleby had privileged access to Patten, and to key diplomats, politicians, and business leaders in Hong Kong, as he developed both this book and a five-part BBC TV series, which was shown on TVOntario. He sets the crisis--with its many consequences for Canada and the rest of the world--against 150 years of Anglo-Chinese relationships since the Opium Wars and the seizure of Hong Kong. He also provides a panoramic portrait of colonial rule and of the shining capitalist "jewel" itself, using the voices of its people--from the richest entrepreneur to the poorest refugee. The Last Governor is one of those rare and exciting books that captures history in the making.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 038525637X
• ISBN13: 9780385256377
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Doubleday Canada
• Length: 461 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Great political history of Hong Kong

The Last Governor is an encyclopedic account of Chris Patten's governorship in Hong Kong (1992-1997). Dimbleby was given unprecedented access to the inner working of HK Government House, as well as back-stage passes to some of its top bureaucrats. The author's view was very clear and he made no apology for it. Patten's adversaries were often dismissed as "apologists" or "self-proclaimed experts". Despite the author's obvious bias, the book was meticulously researched, engaging and a worthy collection for anyone interested in the history of this part of the world. Dimbleby has donated all the research material, including notes, interviews, tape recordings, to the University of Hong Kong for future researchers. A BBC documentary was made based on the same material. Chris Patten was a very popular governor. Hong Kong people loved him. His affection for Hong Kong was also obvious, I remembered watching the live coverage of the hand-over on Australian TV. I didn't realise it until quite recently - how often does Australian TV cover an overseas "political" event LIVE ? The 2008 Obama's election was a rarity. Patten was a down-to-earth and personable governor. There were numerous stories of him having "egg tart" for lunch at a local bakery, or chatting to shop keepers while casually strolling down the street. I am a little disappointed that Dimbleby didn't say much about the rest of the family though. What was it like for Patten's wife and daughters ? What was on their mind when they boarded the royal yacht after the ceremony ? They were leaving their friends behind, the daughters were leaving part of their childhood in HK. They couldn't have known if anyone of them would ever be welcome back to the Island again. It must have been such raw emotion. One can sense some of this emotion in the writing, the author wrote in his very last paragraph, "Chris Patten had fought a sustained public and private battle.......It had been a gruelling and often lonely five years. The scale of his purpose and the character of his responsibility had required rare qualities of leadership: a clear vision, an abnormal resolve and a profound sense of public duty. The last governor of Hong Kong had arrived in the colony as a politician, hopeful of success. He would depart as a statesman, knowing failure as well as victory, but in dignity and with honour."

A few good man

I loved this book. He seemed genuine and really care the fate of the Hong Kong Chinese.Regardless of the so-called hidden agenda behind the rush to the democracy before the handover, the truth was back then none of the patten's predecessors had the political reforms in agenda. They were all diplomats and they only really concerned to kowtowing Beijing. Patten was a politican and he tried to work and fight for the benefits on behalf of HIS constituents i.e. people of Hong Kong. He got unfairly smeared by Beijing in return just because the truth hurts.The bottom line was Chris Patten did leave a legacy way better than Tung che-hwa, the chief executive of Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region-not the disease) could ever dream of. What an irony it was when the white Anglo-Saxon master who make Hong Kong prosperous and better than the mainland Chinese themselves. When the Union Jack lowered the last time on June 30, 1997, it symbolized not only the beginning of the fall of Hong Kong, but also spell the death of Hong Kong. Hong Kong-the beacon and the crown jewel of what a Chinese society ought to be back then ceased to exist.

Great book for Hong Kong junkies

I loved this book. I thought it was a great narrative on Chris Patten and his governorship and the hardships he endured. The book spares almost no detail, but I would have liked to see more of the Democrat's point of view. This book is absolutely necessary for people who wish to know in-depth about his governorship.

Excellent!

After reading the online review of Theroux's Kowloon Tong (a fictional account of the 1997 Handover of Hong Kong), I am surprised to find that only one customer have contributed a review to Dimbleby's marvelous work on the historical events. Dimbleby provided an excellent and comprehensive account of the political events that led to the signing of the 1984 Sino-British agreement, the arrival of Chris Patten, the introduction of legislative reform, and the eventual derailment of the democratic movement by the Communist Chinese Government. Dimbleby also tell the stories of several Hong Kong citizens and their views of the Handover. Being a native of Hong Kong who have spent my last 12 years in the States, Dimbleby's book brought me up-to-date on the big political stride taken by and the obstacles awaiting the people of Hong Kong.

This is definitely a good book.

This book is one of the best books about the history and political development of HK. It not only gives a brief but interesting historical outline at the beginning of the book, it also traces the development of HK politics. What the governors before Chris Patten did and what have been changed since the arrival of Patten. It also outlines lots of power struggles between the governor and the ministers in Britain and how Patten dealt with them. For sure the relations between the governor and the Prime Minister John Major is a key factor contributing to the "success" of the governor. Of course one would have no doubt about that the close relationship between the governor and the writer, Jonathan Dimbleby, who followed Patten to come to HK and spent several years with him, which does enable him to access some crucial but secret matters that are not easily accessed by other journalists. Being a HK citizen, reading the book enables me not just to know the past better but it also enriches me about the situations of HK at that time. Reading it is just like passing through the history once again, with all those political arguments between China and both Patten and Britain reappearing in real life. Another interesting thing about the book is that it also touches lots of the everyday lives of the ordinary people living in HK, how did they feel about the political arguments and what did they plan to do after the handover of China. This makes the book more lively. This book is definitely a book that students of history/Political Science/HK Studies should read.