Four Books on Hong Kong
My original intention was to do a follow-up piece to “A Modern China Reader”, which appeared on the back page of our January 22, 2019 issue. In that article, I recommended five books that I thought were good gateways into modern Chinese — that is, mainland Chinese — history and politics: Jonathan Spence’s The Search for Modern China (3rd ed.), Julia Lovell’s The Opium War, Jung Chang’s Wild Swans, Yu Hua’s China in Ten Words, and William Rowe’s China’s Last Empire: The Great Qing. I chose, within my self-imposed constraints, a mix of scholarly and more mainstream items. I also tried to present a range of perspectives on topics that remain, in some corners, highly contentious. Of course, no list — however long — is ever comprehensive, and there are dozens if not hundreds of highly recommendable books on modern China that I had to leave out. Nonetheless, I thought that since Hong Kong had generated an unusual number of headlines this past summer (and continues to do so), I should write a similar ‘explainer’ for readers interested in the city’s current affairs and eager to investigate the history leading up to this year’s dramatic events.
As you might imagine, there are not nearly as many books, especially in English, on Hong Kong as there are on mainland China. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, Hong Kong is, despite its high profile, a small place with a short history, especially when compared to the mainland. Objectively speaking, there is just less to write about. Secondly, for many years, it was not a foregone conclusion that Hong Kong’s history and politics were worth writing about at all, except as a footnote to discussions of Britain or mainland China. Hong Kong only came into its own — culturally, economically, and politically — in the postwar years, gradually rising in international stature from the 1950s to the 1990s. And I suspect that, for some, Hong Kong still is a peripheral subject (not unlike the history of the Chinese diaspora).
Yet Hong Kong is plainly of interest. There may only be decades, rather than millennia, of history to write about, but those decades were as eventful as any. Many of us know people who lived through those heady (and angst-ridden) days: the 1967 riots, the negotiations over the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, the drafting of the Basic Law, the handover, and the political turmoil since ’97. And as we have seen, the plot continues to thicken. My hope is that these books will help to make sense of it all.
Chris Patten, East and West (Pan)
Patten was the last colonial governor of Hong Kong, from 1992 to 1997. Hold on — why am I recommending a book by the colonial oppressor? The answer is simple: it is a good book. Patten, writing in the late 90s, made remarkably prescient predictions about the 21st century, particularly with respect to China. He also offers the reader unprecedented access to the operations of a government that was running on borrowed time. His clarity, diction, and incisive wit make his reflections and forecasts a pleasure to read.
Moreover, if Patten was indeed an oppressor, he was quite ineffective. He was well aware of his morally precarious position (a white governor, hand-picked by Britain, of an Asian city in the mid-1990s), and tried to introduce greater democracy to Hong Kong. By all accounts he succeeded in doing so, but did not go far enough. Indeed, Hong Kong’s government has, to Beijing’s liking, retained its colonial-era, semi-democratic structure. Still, there is no doubt that Patten fought hard for Hong Kong’s interests — in the face of lacerating criticism from China, constant hand-wringing by Britain, and loud objections by outspoken Hong Kong people. That comes through strongly in this book.
Jason Y. Ng, Hong Kong State of Mind (Blacksmith)
Ng (no relation), a Hong Kong-based lawyer and frequent current affairs commentator, was born in Hong Kong but lived for many years in Canada and the U.S. He brings that unique insider-outsider (outsider-insider?) perspective to his cultural commentary. He is fully immersed in Hong Kong society but also maintains enough distance to offer critical insight. Ng’s preferred medium is the blogpost or short story — none longer than five or six pages (and many accompanied by an illustration by Ng’s father). Accordingly, this book is a collection of snapshots, as evinced by the subtitle: “37 views of a city that doesn’t blink”. But it is not fragmentary or superficial. Ng has a way of gently circling back to themes, and, despite his exasperation at some of Hong Kong’s quirks, he writes about his hometown with evident affection. Readers who enjoy Hong Kong State of Mind may also wish to read Ng’s second book, which is in a similar format, No City for Slow Men.
Christopher Dewolf, Borrowed Spaces (Penguin)
Like the rest of Penguin’s new Hong Kong Series, Borrowed Spaces, at a breezy 97 pages, is perfect for the bus/train or waiting room. Other volumes focus on Hong Kong’s political system and its protest culture, but Dewolf approaches Hong Kong’s current situation from a different angle. He examines the city’s often oppressive environment and the creative solutions devised by locals to adapt to their surroundings: urban farms, rooftop houses, giant neon signs. It is the story of human ingenuity in the face of — particularly in recent years — government hostility and poor urban planning.
Steve Tsang, A Modern History of Hong Kong (I.B. Taurins)
And finally, for those looking for a straightforward history of Hong Kong, I recommend Steve Tsang’s concise yet thorough survey. Tsang is an academic historian, but he writes with flair; non-specialists need not be afraid. Just one proviso: the book, having been written in the early 2000s, more or less ends with the handover in 1997. Those who want something centered on the post-colonial era may want to supplement their reading with other tomes.
[Correction: In my September 10, 2019 article “Summer Music”, I wrote that Gustavo Gimeno had “returned several times since [his debut in February 2018]” to conduct the TSO. An astute reader pointed out that he had in fact not done so., and that his appearances with the orchestra in June 2019 were only his second set of concerts here. My apologies for this oversight.]