HONG KONG – With another new book in hand, Chris Patten, Hong Kong’s final British governor, plans to re-visit the city of his greatest success where he remains wildly popular.

Eleven years have passed since Patten participated in the “handover” ceremony to switch Hong Kong sovereignty to the Chinese mainland. For much of that time, the politician turned governor turned author has hunkered down at a desk, always writing. His latest book, What Next? Surviving the 21st Century, considers how the world should tackle climate change, globalization, international crime and other big challenges.

Among the events on Patten’s upcoming visit, he’ll sign books on November 2 at the Bookazine store in the Prince’s Building on Hong Kong Island. The session runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Some readers may pose a few pertinent questions. For example, does the Guv’nor still recognize the same high-intensity, free-wheeling, democracy-craving city he left in 1997? Or has the weight of Chinese sovereignty crushed Hong Kong’s soul?

For that matter, what about the British people? Wouldn’t they do better with a swashbuckling Prime Minister Patten, not the drab Gordon Brown?



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