Dealing with the Dragon

Insider's view of how Hong Kong has changed since the 1997 handover Combines history, current affairs, culture and personal anecdote in the same way as the author's highly acclaimed ON THE BRINK

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Hong Kong, the 'fragrant harbour', was handed back to China in 1997 after being a British colony for nearly a hundred years. In that time the territory established itself as one of Asia's major trading areas and one of the world's most exciting and cosmopolitan cities. At the time of the handover many Westerners feared that the Communist regime in Beijing would kill this golden goose in their eagerness to plunder its riches. So far, that hasn't happened, but many other changes have taken place - more subtle, perhaps, than tanks in the streets, but still altering the culture and atmosphere of the place where East meets West. Jonathan Fenby's masterly survey of his last year in charge of Hong Kong's leading English-language newspaper is both a fascinating insight into this amazing place and an entertaining and enlightening personal story of changing fortunes.