The Hong Kong Diaries

Product Information

Espinoza, Javier. "Oxford University students who don't like Cecil Rhodes should 'think about being educated elsewhere', says chancellor". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 . Retrieved 14 January 2016. Lord Patten becomes Commandeur in Ordre de la Légion d'honneur". Embassy of France, London. 3 November 2016. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018 . Retrieved 23 December 2016. Why I'm standing down from Parliament: Don Foster, MP for Bath". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 . Retrieved 30 September 2021. In 1989, he was promoted to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for the Environment and became responsible for the unpopular Community Charge (or so-called "Poll Tax"). Though he robustly defended the policy at the time, in his 2006 book Not Quite the Diplomat (published in the United States as Cousins and Strangers: America, Britain and Europe in the New Century) he claims to have thought it was a mistake on Margaret Thatcher's part. He also introduced, and steered through Parliament, the major legislation that became the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

In November 2016 Patten was made a Commander of the Legion of Honour, and was presented with the award by the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom Sylvie Bermann at Kensington Palace Gardens. [60] Part of the reason that he despairs in watching our own democratic norms under threat – proroguing parliament, undermining the independence of the judiciary and the neutrality of the civil service, threatening to ignore treaties in Northern Ireland – is that he knows it makes it harder to criticise other regimes.Raised in west London, Patten studied history at Balliol College, Oxford. Shortly after graduating in 1965, he began working for the Conservative Party. Patten was elected Member of Parliament for Bath in 1979. He was appointed Secretary of State for the Environment by Margaret Thatcher in 1989 as part of her third ministry, becoming responsible for implementation of the unpopular poll tax. On John Major's succession as Prime Minister in 1990, Patten became Chairman of the Conservative Party and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. As party chairman, he successfully orchestrated a surprise Conservative electoral victory in 1992, but lost his own seat. Lord Patten steps down as MAP President". Map-uk.org. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013 . Retrieved 22 April 2013. 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. Economist

There is other evidence in The Diaries illustrating how ‘bargaining below the table’ is often conducted. The Diaries (p.68) reports that Lu sent a private message to Patten, informing Patten that if he respected Lu’s ‘face’ and behaved properly, then Patten would be invited to Beijing, implying that if Patten gave way in the negotiation, Lu could arrange Patten to shake hand with higher ranking senior members of the Chinese Communist Party (CPP). Patten believed that under the Basic Law, all contracts signed before 1997 should be honored. Regarding Hong Kong’s future, Patten firmly defended British interests and took the chance to show significant resolve on issues relating to Hong Kong affairs before 1997. In reply, Lu Ping gave a press conference which was full of threats including the breaking up of the negotiation if British tried to go ahead on their own (p.61). As Patten wrote, Chris Patten urges UK to investigate origins of coronavirus in China". The Guardian. 30 April 2020.

Retailers:

What a bunch we have to deal with,” he writes in May 1995 when Chinese officials refused to meet him during their visit to the city. But the governor’s frustration with much of the business elite, anxious only to kowtow to Beijing and go on making a lot of money, was almost as great. Strained relations extended even to his more natural political allies, the Hong Kong democrats led by Martin Lee. Though on the eve of handover, Patten admits glumly: “They are good and brave people. We have let them and others down.” Patten’s most withering comments are reserved for Sinophile diplomats in London, many of whom viewed he with disdain In 2014 Pope Francis appointed Patten to head a body to advise the Vatican on media strategy and on how to handle the press, which he remained on until 2016. [ citation needed] In the media [ edit ] Patten was interviewed about the rise of Thatcherism for the 2006 BBC TV documentary series Tory! Tory! Tory! China's 'nervous' Xi risks new Cold War, last Hong Kong governor says". Reuters. 30 May 2020. The West, he said, should stop being naive about Xi, who has served as General Secretary of the Communist Party since 2012. This book is an invaluable resource to gain a deeper understanding into the 'behind the scene' maneuvers taken by the two countries during this fateful period in Hong Kong. Official statements and news report on historical events are sometimes insufficient, as they often only revealed what could be verified externally, or what the players involved were willing to share as public information. Patten's diary offers a glimpse into how regional party politics in far away England, totally unrelated to Hong Kong, could have a direct effect on him, of what he was permitted to do as the governor. This personal perspective is a great supplement to the official narratives one might find in a history book.

Lord Patten of Barnes, Parliamentary career". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. On 29 September 2005, he published his memoirs, Not Quite the Diplomat: Home Truths About World Affairs. In October 2009, Patten was Chief Guest at The Doon School, a boarding school in Dehradun, India, which is a member of the United Kingdom's Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. [54] The ethnocentric view of culture argues that we evaluate other cultures solely by the values and standards of our own culture. The cultural clashes between Chris Patten and Chinese delegates are revealed in terms of their family values, communication skills, negotiation strategies, and contractual arrangements. Broadly speaking, they reflect cultural differences between the East and West. From this perspective, Patten’s book makes much sense. Therefore, to resolve the ongoing chaotic situation in Hong Kong, understanding differences in cultural values between China and the UK is of utmost importance. The Patten Report on Policing: Summary of Recommendations, 9September 1999". CAIN. 9 September 1999. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008 . Retrieved 30 June 2010. I’ve got increasingly cross about references to Chinese ‘face’ (by the older group in particular) and feel that we need to refer ourselves to British ‘face’ from time to time.” (p.17)

The Legislative Council became a fully elected legislature for the first time in 1995 and extensively expanded its functions and organisations throughout the last years of colonial rule. [20] Despite being heavily engaged with his public duties, Patten did not neglect his family nor did he refrain from leisure. We wonder how Patten, apart from his Sino-British negotiations, could handle so many miscellaneous family affairs, including Kate’s car accident, the disappearance of his puppy, and his many meetings and social gatherings. Differences in communication and negotiation strategies

It’s been a very long nervous breakdown. And I don’t see what pulls the party together again. In politics, one has to make a distinction between people who are doing things that are wrong and people who are trying to do things that are right. And I just think Johnson is terribly wrong. It is hard to beat Dominic Grieve’s description of him as a moral vacuum.” Events of the last decade, not just in China, have shown how the liberal idea that market freedom goes hand in hand with political freedom has been disproved. Western governments, Patten believes, have been wrong – “because of greed” – to give Xi Jinping’s regime an easier ride than Vladimir Putin’s. He fears the results are being played out in Hong Kong. “You can see it in the language used by [former Hong Kong chief executive] Carrie Lam and now this terrible policeman who is her successor, John Lee. That grim communist-speak.”

The Diaries shows that Patten’s relationship with Chinese officials is often less than harmonious, and at times antagonistic. Lu ended up describing Patten as “a sinner for thousand generations to come” (p.86). This is a rather heavy condemnation for Patten, as if the Chinese ‘face’ was ‘torn off’. Conclusion