The Fall of Hong Kong: China's Triumph and Britain's Betrayal

A former Hong Kong correspondent for Asiaweek, Roberti rips away the veil of secrecy surrounding the negotiations between Britain and China that established the terms of the reversion to China of the Crown Colony, which Britain leased from China for 99 years in 1898. Drawing on interviews with more than 140 British, Hong Kong and Chinese officials, politicians and diplomats, Roberti builds a compelling case that the British-Chinese Joint Declaration of 1984 provides scant safeguards of Hong Kong residents' human rights, political independence or private property. The British government, after its bungled negotiations, misled the people of Hong Kong into believing they would enjoy full democracy after 1997, argues Roberti. The British quashed elections in the colony slated for 1988 to avoid a confrontation with China, fearing also a massive influx of Hong Kong Chinese into the U.K. Both an involving human drama and a cautionary prediction on Hong Kong's future, this report profiles the courageous individuals who fought for Hong Kong's interests, such as British-educated lawyer Martin Lee, who campaigned unsuccessfully for a democratically elected government that would attempt to stand up to Beijing. (Sept.)