Hong Kong’s last governor Chris Patten advised then British leader against attending 1997 handover to avoid ‘embarrassment’, archives show
- Tensions over Tiananmen Square crackdown and Jiang Zemin’s rise in wake of incident spark last governor’s unwillingness for prime minister to shake hands with Chinese leader
- Declassified files also show strained ties between British and Tung Chee-hwa, the city’s first chief executive, said to be ‘following closely the Chinese line’
Hong Kong’s last governor Chris Patten had advised then British prime minister John Major against attending the city’s handover ceremony in 1997 to avoid the “embarrassment” of shaking hands with Chinese president Jiang Zemin, according to historical records.
Newly declassified British files show that Patten and then foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind were once divided on whether Major should attend the ceremony to mark Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule.
In a note to Major on January 14, 1997, Philip Barton, then private secretary to the prime minister, said: “Chris Patten believes that you should not attend, fearing there may be demonstrations and that you could be embarrassed, for example by having to shake Chinese president Jiang Zemin’s hand,” Barton wrote.
“This has been our view hitherto. However the Foreign Secretary now believes that you should go to demonstrate to the wider world UK interest in the fate of Hong Kong after the handover,” Barton wrote.
