The Last Governor 5: Another Balls-Aching Week 7/7

[knight7fox2]

RULE BRITANNIA 2.58

[kenjisamuraisamurai]

How sad.

Hong Kong is the city that i was born in.

[remyhaggard12]

great program, thanks for posting!

[therepublicofHK]

Not at all, glad you liked it.

[roulainde]

i have to say its very sad hong kong could not rule itsself i think it should or go back to britian or become a commenwealth state. therepublicofhk are you against the rule of china or do you like?

[therepublicofHK]

A Commonwealth state would be the natural progression of Hong Kong. Sadly, this is not in the cards for us...

[moondogjack1978]

One of the reasons I chose HK to invest in is it's ranking on the 'Index of Economic Freedom'. Hong Kong has been in 1st place on the index since it was started. The PRC has actually fallen from 111th place to 126th.

[therepublicofHK]

Well, economically speaking perhaps, but politically sadly not... But investment is always welcome! Thanks!

[andrewshere]

On the subject of colonialism, Chris Patten said in one of his speeches that we would not today seek to do that which we did in another age. He put colonialism in its place whilst acknowledging the present circumstances (at the time of his speech). His actions as Governor were NOT those of a vainglorious man. As for Jimmy Lai..."a free man in this colony"

[weissman2000]

Patten is a lonely crusader out for his own fame and glory.

[therepublicofHK]

That is your opinion, but the facts speak for themselves.

[yyxt11a]

Isn't that Jimmy Lai pathetic. Shame on you, Jimmy!

[therepublicofHK]

Jimmy Lai was arguably the only tycoon in Hong Kong that had the courage to challenge China for greater freedoms for HK, he was a good employer and is admired by many in Hong Kong, esp. myself. Physically attacked by suspected agents of China he symbolised the serious nature of HK's plight. It is quite puzzling why you think of him in such a way. Please elaborate.

[yyxt11a]

Colonisation is one of the biggest crimes against humanity, just like slave trade. Lai should be proud to be able to see and experience the ending of the this crime,if he claims he is the defender of human rights. And not to feel sad and to praise the UK for their atrocities.

[therepublicofHK]

1.) The disagreeable nature of Britain's annexation of HK during the opium war has never been in question and is a shame that Britain has faced up to an endures. The fact remains as Mao massacred 30 million Chinese in the mainland from 49-76, Britain protected HK and housed, fed and gave refuge to millions of Chinese refugees who fled to HK during the largest mass murder of the 20th century by China against her own people.

[therepublicofHK]

5.) As for Patten, as the videos said he left HK with an 80% approval rating and is fondly remembered by the HK people. Never before or since have we had a leader that has fought both Britain and China for a better future for HK. and it looks unlikely that we will again.

[therepublicofHK]

4.) I cannot defend Britain's colonialism, but I can defend their track record in HK. In 1997 HK was (and remains) a vibrant, fair and free society due in large part to Britain. Despite the mixed feelings we HKers may have about history, Britain's excellent track record in HK is self-evident. It will remain to be seen if China keeps it that way, but so far freedoms and democratic reform has been rolled back.

[therepublicofHK]

6.) Jimmy Lai has the respect of a great many people in HK for his unwavering outspokenness for the Hong Kong people, his criticisms of the Chinese govt and his unrelenting support of democracy over several decades. Stating the truth of the matter is a virtue, esp. in HK, and this is what Mr. Lai does, for this and his other virtues I find many reasons to respect him.

[therepublicofHK]

2.) Furthermore, during the 60s the Chinese backed leftists led by Yeung Kwong (to whom the SAR govt gave a senior govt posting in '07) were responsible for riots and many terrorist bombings that killed many HK and British people who defended HK. Meanwhile the British admin. set up the Urban Council, set up the ICAC, built public housing, offered free education among numerous other improvements to the lives of the HK people, in spite of, not because of China's disgraceful behaviour.

[therepublicofHK]

3.) If you truly believe that colonialism is the "biggest crimes against humanity" then the return of HK to China's without the approval of the HK people, the "one country, two systems" policy stipulating the China will rule HK as Britain did pre-1984 style, with an eye to destroy HK's unique identity and deny the people their democratic wishes, then this is tantamount to colonialism as well. To say nothing of Tibet and Xinjiang

[Morris1962]

Thank you so much for uploading all of these. It took me a while to watch them all but it was very interesting viewing. If you have any more informative documentaries from this part of the world I hope you would add them to the collection. Thanks again.

[therepublicofHK]

Not at all, glad to help. If I get my hands on any more documentaries I'll be certain to put them up on youtube, there is a lack of information of this nature available on the web. Radio Television Hong Kong (rthk dot org dot hk) occasionally has some multimedia if you're interested.

[therepublicofHK]

Actually, you collect donations. You can't collect tax since a government in exile technically can't tax its citizens! :-)

See? Us 'splittists' can take a joke!

HK technically fits the de jure criteria of statehood already, just not the de facto. Hence why China accuses democrats of separatism, much to our bemusement. I'll examine this in greater depth with my reply to robintso shortly. Stay tuned...

[robintso]

Hi therepublicofHK, I'm indeed so grateful to you for posting these video clips on youtube, which clarify and deepen my understanding of being HK-British, for I was just only 10 when the handover was taken place.

However, after a long time of consideration, I wonder if Hong Kong really can be republic, by any means, from China, because I thought that both the Basic Law and the 23 Article are to safeguard the connection between Hong Kong and China. Could you advice me on this?

[therepublicofHK]

I just emailed you the answer as best I could, sorry it took so long to reply, also my apologies for the length of the message. Please feel free to post my email to you anywhere you like.

[killbot86]

I was too young to appreciate the significance of the moment and what it meant for the chinese people, its nice to watch this and take in some of the atmosphere

[therepublicofHK]

Glad I could help

[andrewshere]

Three cheers for the British Broadcasting Corporation. What a fantastic documentary. I first watched this in 1997 in England. Seeing it again was immensely enjoyable. Chris Patten comes out of this with all dignity; a man of principle and courage. And very much so too do the people of Hong Kong. All power to them. They make it one of the best places in the world. That's why I keep going back.

Thank you therepublicofHK for uploading this.

[therepublicofHK]

Thanks for your comments, indeed Patten does come through as exceptionally dignified as do most of the Hong Kong people, even if our shameless, sycophantic tycoons and their masters in Beijing do not! I fear little has changed there other than the fact that no one stands up to them quite like Patten did (honourable Pan-Democrats notwithstanding!)

[CarrKnight]

thanks a million for this.

[therepublicofHK]

Not at all, hope you enjoyed it!

[chanha]

I watched all 5 series of this documentary; back to back and enjoyed the every minutes of it. I was born in Hong Kong and lived in England for over 40 years proud to be British and now making Hong Kong my home.

Mark

[therepublicofHK]

Glad to help. And welcome back home! If you can, don't forget to march with us on July 1st for universal suffrage...

[cjk91]

Thank you very much for uploading all these.

[therepublicofHK]

Not at all, my pleasure