In July 1997, Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony and passed into the hands of the People's Republic of China. Charged with overseeing the transfer was Chris Patten, former chairman of the Conservative Party, who was appointed Hong Kong's last governor in 1992. During the final five years of British rule, acclaimed journalist Jonathan Dimbleby was given unprecedented access to the governor which enabled him to chart every twist and turn of a extraordinary diplomatic, political and personal drama as Patten battled to reconcile the basic rights and freedoms of over 6 million people with the unpredictable imperatives of Beijing. Drawing on the insights of a host of senior figures, the author places the crisis in both its human and historical contexts, and presents some startling arguments about the conduct of British foreign policy on Hong Kong before and during Patten's tenure.
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