Lord Christopher Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, responded to the controversy over whether Hong Kong was once a colony at the launch of his new book on June 20. He said, “As the last Governor of Hong Kong, I do exist, and I am not a person made out of imagination.” This question followed what happened a few days ago. The media discovered that several textbooks on “Citizenship and Social Development (CSD)” submitted for review, all stated that “Hong Kong was not a colony,” which aroused heated discussions in the society. Yeung Wing Yu, a historian, pointed out that the statement, “Hong Kong is not a colony,” is one hundred percent rewriting and tampering of history.
He also mentioned that the “Basic Principles of Revision of Textbooks” formulated by the Hong Kong government as early as 1998 reminded teachers to note that China has never recognized Hong Kong as “colonial.” In other words, the requirement of “tampering with history” has existed for more than 20 years, and it was only seriously implemented when the National Security Law came into effect.
Lord Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong—known by all in Hong Kong as just Chris Patten—at the launch of his new book “The Hong Kong Diaries” talked about the statement “Hong Kong is not a colony,” as mentioned in the “Citizenship and Social Development (CSD)” textbooks. Patten pointed out that the CCP did not call Hong Kong a colony, but called it occupied territory. “It’s a bit like an own goal, you have to ask yourself who occupied it.”
He added: “I am delighted to be able to prove that, as the last governor of Hong Kong, I do exist, I am not a person made out of imagination.”
Patten recalled at the launch of his new book, that the “Sino-British Joint Declaration” was submitted to the United Nations for registration and archiving in 1985, and the “one country, two systems” principle mentioned there should have guaranteed Hong Kong’s “high degree of autonomy,” its original way of life, freedom, and the rule of law. There were no serious problems in the first 10 years after the handover of sovereignty in 1997. Unfortunately, it started to go downhill afterward.
Part of the reason, he argues, is that the CCP is afraid of the “freedom and Hong Kong’s civic consciousness” that Hong Kong represents, which is important to all. He believes that Hong Kong is a great city and hopes to see it great again.
Patten served as the last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997.
Born in 1944, he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, in 1965, majoring in modern history.
He joined the Conservative Party in 1966 and was first elected Member of Parliament (MP) for the Bath constituency in 1979. After the 1983 parliamentary election, he was appointed Deputy Minister of State for Northern Ireland; in 1985, he was Minister of Education and Science; in 1986, he was transferred to the Foreign Office as Minister of Overseas Development. In July 1989, Patten was promoted to the cabinet for the first time as Secretary of State for Environment.
On July 9, 1992, Patten began to serve as the 28th Governor of Hong Kong. Unlike previous Hong Kong Governors, he had no experience in China and British colonial affairs. Shortly after taking office, he introduced the “1995 political reform” plan to speed up the pace of Hong Kong’s democracy but was denounced by Lu Ping (魯平), then director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, as a “sinner through eternity (千古罪人).”
In the end, Patten’s political reform plan was passed by the Legislative Council, but the elected members of the legislative council of 1995 were stopped from fully transferring it into the post-1997 Legislative Council, because of CCP interference.
Siding With the Hongkongers
In recent years, he has repeatedly and publicly expressed his solidarity with the people of Hong Kong, in their pursuit of democracy and freedom.
For example, during the Umbrella Movement in Nov. 2014, when Patten gave a speech at the Oxford China Forum, he praised the participants in the occupation of Hong Kong, and referred to them as showing impressive dignity and seriousness. He also sent a message to Xi Jinping asking him not to let down the whole generation of Hong Kong youngsters.
In 2017, Patten visited Hong Kong, and when he gave a speech at a luncheon, he praised the leaders and young people of the Umbrella Movement as “the future of Hong Kong.” On top of that he also sent a message to Joshua Wong Chi Fung (黃之鋒), who was in prison at the time, and to the other student movement leaders who were about to be imprisoned: stick to your beliefs, remain with the Hong Kong identity, strive for democracy and the rule of law, and adhere to “one country, two systems.”
In May 2020, before the National Security Law (NSL) for Hong Kong took effect, Patten and nearly two hundred global politicians issued a joint statement criticizing the impact of the NSL on Hong Kong’s autonomy, rule of law, and fundamental freedoms.
Later, Patten joined the British NGO “Hong Kong Watch (香港監察),” which was concerned about the human rights situation in Hong Kong, and became a patron himself. He often spoke in support of Hong Kong people’s pursuit of democracy and freedom, and in the House of Lords, where he himself is also a member, he repeatedly urged the British government to provide more support to Hong Kong people who hold BNO status.
