The Hong Kong Diaries

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a b Marlin, John Tepper (28 April 2013). "REUNION: Europe in Madrid – Lord Patten". The Oxbridge Pursuivant. blogspot . Retrieved 28 March 2023.

Chris Patten urges UK to investigate origins of coronavirus in China". The Guardian. 30 April 2020. On 11 January 2005 Patten was created a life peer as Baron Patten of Barnes, of Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. [29] Chairman of the BBC Trust: 2011–2014 [ edit ]I grew up in Hong Kong and for some reason have always remembered the name of the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, even though I was not really interested in politics at the time. I remember driving by the Governor's house which was not far from where I lived. Of course, both sides did not want to see the negotiation fail. Lu said that Patten’s insistence upon defending the principle of Chinese sovereignty on Hong Kong harmed the relationship between China and the UK. Lu planned to give Patten a gift (perhaps an agreement on the airport) but due to Patten’s tough attitude, Patten would not receive anything then. In Chinese culture, reciprocity is a virtue. If Patten gave way in the negotiation, British would also get what they wanted in return. However, Lu’s expectation was turned down. Finally, Lu warned Patten not to announce anything at all unless the agreement was first cleared from the Chinese side. Sale, Jonathan. "Passed/Failed: An Education in the Life of Lord Patten, last governor of Hong Kong and University Chancellor". The Independent . Retrieved 19 July 2018. I only went to the Oxford Union once. What turned me on to politics was getting a travelling scholarship to the USA. In New York, I got involved in the mayoral campaign of John Lindsay, a liberal Republican who wound up a Democrat, and I got the bug

Patten tried, he says, to give an answer that recognised that he was not being required to be as brave as they might be, in making that choice. At which point, the young man’s “lovely girlfriend just burst into tears”. In the last three months, he says, partly as a result of Britain’s generous visa scheme, “there have been 100,000-plus people from Hong Kong, teachers, medics, lawyers, leaving to come here and lots of other places as well”. If he’s honest he can’t see any other future for the territory “than that it will have its freedoms and its attributes as an open society stripped away comprehensively”. Like South Koreans, Chinese regard consuming dog meat as normal. However, in British Hong Kong, the Dogs and Cats Ordinance of 1950 prohibits the slaughter of dogs for use as food. The loss of Soda signifies Sino-British cultural differences in dog domestication. On the disappearance of Soda, Gareth Evans, former Australia’s Foreign Minister, made a joke during a banquet dinner that Chinese ate Soda. One newspapers headline reports, ‘Chinese eat governor’s dog’. Evans later was required to clarify his remarks upon China’s inquiry! (p.80) The diaries of the last British Governor of Hong Kong, published on the 25th anniversary of the handover 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.

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In contrast to his predecessors, Patten decided not to wear the official Court uniform on formal occasions. [19] Patten's approval rating in Hong Kong in April 1992 was 53% and ended his tenure with an approval rating of 59.7%. [4] Sir John Bowring ( Governor of Hong Kong 1854–1859) and Sir John Pope Hennessy ( Governor of Hong Kong 1877–1882) – a Conservative MP before he entered the Colonial Service – were predecessors. In 2016, Patten expressed opposition to hypothetical Hong Kong independence, arguing such a move "dilutes support for democracy" and that moves towards universal suffrage in Hong Kong should not be conflated with independence. [46] Lu] complained that Beijing had not been properly consulted, that he [Lu] and his colleagues were not being given any face, that we [Chinese] were bouncing them with these proposals, that they [British] were out of step with the Basic Law.

Patten was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Northern Ireland Office in June 1983. He was promoted to be a Minister of State in the Department of Education and Science in September 1985, and was named Minister for Overseas Development at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in September 1986.In February 2010, Patten was appointed President of Medical Aid for Palestinians, but he stepped down in June 2011. [56] 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. It’s an aspect of a mature patriotism to look at both the good bit and the bad bits. The attempt, for example, to understand the relationship between a slave trade and the Atlantic economy of which we were a part seems to me to be fundamentally important. It’s not woke to do that. That’s just good history.” Patten and his time in Hong Kong was the subject of the 5-part documentary series The Last Governor, which was filmed throughout his time in Hong Kong, including his arrival, key moments of his government such as the 1995 elections and his final day in office, ending as he departs Government House for the last time.

Grice, Elizabeth (19 July 2012). "Lord Patten: 'It's not the BBC's job to be jokey' ". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. The Doon School Weekly" (PDF). Doonschool.com. 10 October 2009 . Retrieved 17 March 2015. [ permanent dead link] Gerretsen, Isabelle (1 March 2012). "Travel grant offered to Eton students only". Cherwell. Oxford University . Retrieved 28 March 2023.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. In a 2014 article for the Financial Times, Patten argued the British government should not stay silent on China interfering with Hong Kong's judiciary and politics, arguing that the UK had a moral and political responsibility to speak out on the issue of universal suffrage in Hong Kong and ensure that China fulfilled its promises in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, reiterating that the agreement was international. The Chinese government had criticized Britain in harsh terms for interfering in China's internal affairs and Hong Kong's political reform, but Patten stressed that the UK should not fear economic consequences for speaking out against China as Britain was also obligated to ensure the Joint Declaration was respected and that China itself would suffer economic repercussions if it cut ties with the West. [42] Patten was the biggest proponent in the commission for Turkey's accession to the European Union. [27]