Customer Reviews

East and West : the Last Governor of Hong Kong on Power, Freedom and the Future

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A HarperCollins executive in London had judged a manuscript of East and West as `probably the best-written and most compelling book I have read by a politician since I came into publishing' --quoted in Chenoweth 2001: 283. However, after instructions from Murdoch and HarperCollins executives in New York, the book was dropped as `boring' - a judgement that was later unreservedly withdrawn by News Corporation in a legal settlement.

In later reviews put forth by the Independent Review: A journal of political economy, Dr. Lingle states:
"Reviewing Chris Patten's book brings me personal pleasure in several respects. For one, it pleases me to encourage readers to buy and read a book that Rupert Murdoch refused to publish. In a highly publicized affair, one of Murdoch's publishing houses pulled out of a contract for this book, shamelessly deferring to Beijing's Communist regime. Given his media ambitions for East Asia, Murdoch clearly dreaded the regime's displeasure at the publication of Patten's thoughtful words. After all, the Chinese government had denounced Patten as "a prostitute for a thousand years" and a "tango dancer" during negotiations over conditions for the return of Hong Kong to China."-- Christopher Lingle, Centre for Independent Studies, Sydney

Below is a quick synopses of why this book was banned.

News Corporation's relations with China:

July 1993 -Murdoch buys majority stake in Hong Kong-based Star TV in
apparent attempt to access Chinese market

September 1993 -Murdoch angers China by saying satellite TV is `unambiguous
threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere'

October 1993 - Beijing responds by outlawing private satellite dishes

April 1994 - Murdoch drops BBC from Star TV network covering north Asia
and China, later admitting to biographer William Shawcross this
was to please Beijing

February 1995 -Murdoch sponsors trip to US by Deng Rong to promote a
biography of her father, the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping

August 1996 -Star TV launches new Chinese-language channel in partnership
with Hong Kong businessmen with ties to the Chinese military

February 1998- HarperCollins abandons plans to publish a book by Chris Patten,
whom Murdoch attacks for angering Beijing by introducing more
democracy while serving as Hong Kong governor during final
years of British rule

June 1999 -Murdoch marries Wendi Deng, Chinese-born executive at Star
TV

September 1999 - Murdoch criticizes the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader
February 2001 Star TV chairman, James Murdoch, Rupert's youngest son,
describes banned Falun Gong spiritual movement as `dangerous'
and an `apocalyptic cult'

September 2001 -TV officials in Beijing say they have `agreed' that News Corp and
AOL Time Warner can broadcast directly to parts of Guangdong
province

Overall, during a time while US companies have been allowing the reduction of human rights and freedom of information to occur in order to take advantage of markets this book goes far in pointing out the current political structure in China and their historical constructions.

Readers not familiar with recent developments in East Asia will find this fascinating book full of relevant insights. It also presents a principled, consistent, and compassionate argument for expanding individual freedoms. Resting his case on both individual and national interests, Patten pleads for "normalizing" relations with China, that is, for treating China the same as any other country. This implies the rejection of arguments that China's exceptional history and culture require it be treated with greater deference. Patten correctly points out that caving in to repressive regimes is a dangerous path.
Unfortunately, Patten does nothing to dispel the enduring myth that Hong Kong is a free-market paradiseas indicated, for example, by the annual Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Economic Freedom Index and by separate surveys by the Fraser Institute and the Cato Institute, which typically identify Hong Kong as the place with the most economic freedom. Consider a few inconvenient facts. In the past year the Hong Kong government intervened in the local stock market in defense of the local currency's peg with the U.S. dollar. Moreover, upon spending $15 billion to purchase shares of local companies, the Hong Kong government became the single largest shareholder in the local market.
The book's principal message is that the wide access to individual freedoms and an institutional framework to guarantee them lay behind Hong Kong's success. Patten did his best to ensure that the agreements he forged with the Chinese would allow this oasis of freedom to survive. His efforts earned him the wrath of the Communists and the admiration of most of the people of Hong Kong. He initiated an expansion of democratic institutions that riled the Chinese and caused cynics to describe his efforts as a "poison pill." If democracy is such a wonderful and necessary institution, why, they asked, did the British wait so long to provide it?

I would provide a thorough review if I could have gotten past the first hundred pages. Alas, I could not. The tone of the book is just slightly arrogant and has an undertone of sarcasm. I didn't like it. You can have my copy if you live in the Bay Area (South Bay). I'll give it to you.

Expecting an analysis and insight into the Hong Kong handover, I was surprised to find this was more a commentary on Asia and development economics.

In an era of fawning Sinophilia, Patten sets out a refreshing commentary on such nuggets as "Asian values" and the totalitarian government of many of the Asian tigers. His frank and objective commentary avoids the typical toadying that others have for the likes of LKY and the Chinese leadership. Patten's economic commentary, however, is the most interesting, showing a globally-wise, considered perspicacity on the underlying factors of economic development.

Patten's writing style is formal and well structured, yet easy to read. (A change from the cheap American pop cliches of self-help books that dominate the shelves).