Hong Kong Handover - A Chinese Perspective

Maybe my memory is failing me. But all I remember about the handover of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997 were:

1) The jubilation on the part of the Chinese,
2) The joy that another chapter of China's humiliating modern history had come to an end,
3) The pomp and pageantry,
4) The rain, and
5) Chris Patten, the territory's last governor, bowing his head, as if in tears.

But I was given a difference perspective of the handover when I recently read a book titled 回归的瞬间 (or The Moment of Reunification, 1998).

In it, Chinese journalist Li Nan (李楠) described how he felt after listening to Prince Charles' speech during the handover ceremony.

Li said he was shocked that not a word was mentioned about the Opium Wars, how Hong Kong was taken away, and how the lost of the territory had caused immense hurt and pain among the Chinese.

Li noted that there are not even a tinge of regret, let alone a semblance of apology, in Prince Charles' speech.

In Li's view, the tone in Prince Charles' speech was no different from someone who had to return a child whom he/she had painstakingly raised.

Li wrote: "According to Chinese customs, the child is now a fully-grown adult, and is at the stage where he should honor and look after his parents. Hence, it is hard to see him go. But it should be remembered that that the child was not even "adopted" in the first place. Rather, it was stolen at knife-point!"

While Li contended that Prince Charles might want to avoid any mention of the past so as not to stir up nationalistic feelings, he argued that given His Majesty's talent and wisdom, surely the Prince could have come up with something diplomatic.

Li argued: "If (Britain) does not want to talk about it then, is there another opportunity to do so in future? By not talking about it, it only created a sense of alertness among the Chinese - the sense that this particular part of history had not yet been fully concluded."

Li added: "When Prince Charles turned to walk away with no sense of apology, the Chinese had finally understood that the 100 years of humiliation cannot be washed away simply with a ceremony marking the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty."