This is the story of the last British Governor of Hong Kong and the extraordinary efforts he made to introduce elements of democracy into this long standing British Colony prior to the Chinese take-over in 1997. The name Dimbleby might ring some bells, both his brother and father were/are much more famous British television commentators that Jonathan, who has been known to do the odd documentary or two himself. Jonathan is however primarily a political commentator, and his treatment of Chris Patten's Governorship is masterful. Patten was the quintessential politician, once touted to be the next conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Dimbleby is very close to Patten throughout Patten's five years in the job, taking notes and interviewing the key players as events unfolded. Although it might be more accurate to say 'unraveled'. At almost every step Patten's plans to introduce democratic reform in Hong Kong were opposed by the British Foreign Office and most of the largest commercial enterprises in Hong Kong who all saw China's antagonism towards democracy as a threat to Hong Kong's and Britain's future commercial relationship with China. China was - of course - the most vehement in their opposition towards any steps towards democratisation of Hong Kong, preferring to see it revert to a bare rock populated by sea birds rather than become a trojan horse of popular dissent within the 'new China'.

That Patten managed to achieve anything is remarkable, and Dimbleby does a fine job of documenting both the successes and failures of Patten's stewardship. You get the sense that Patten (and Dimbleby in telling the tale) had some real sympathy with the lot of the ordinary Hong Kong citizen, driven by necessity to make compromises in order to achieve financial stability, but always hoping for something even better for their children. Dimbleby doesn't pull any punches in describing the extremists on all sides of the debate, the libertarian capitalists, the ideologically pure but hopelessly impractical democrats and the ideologically obsessed communists. It may be that he spares Patten some criticism, but it is human nature to have greater sympathy for the subjects closest to you, and at least it can be said that Dimbleby manages to convey a fairly even handed tone throughout. His section of further reading includes some excellent books, including some which take a much harsher view of the British handling of affairs, which Dimbleby acknowledges contains more than a few grains of truth.

The strange thing about this otherwise excellent book though is the almost complete encapsulation of the story within the time frame of the career of Chris Patten as Governor. Events leading up to his appointment are covered adequately enough, but the reader might do well to have a look at Cottrell's 'The End of Hong Kong' for the full story. And of course every chronicle of events must choose a time to rule off the last entry and go to press, but Dimbleby's book ends (or fades out really...) a few weeks before the actual Chinese take over of Hong Kong. Hundreds of loose ends and contentious issues are left hanging in mid sentence, to be continued. The story of Hong Kong after the Chinese take over will make another fascinating book for anyone who has followed this one with interest. But as it stands, and because of his unparalleled access to the story and the main players, Dimbleby's book will always be an essential part of the telling of the story of Hong Kong. Highly recommended. ( )

Social Sciences
- HK Government