Hong Kong’s Values Will Live Longer Than Dictatorship: Former Hong Kong Governor

Lord Chris Patten on Sept. 17, 2013 in London, England. Lord Patten, Hong Kong's last British governor, testified before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China on Nov. 20, 2022. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Hong Kong’s last governor reassured Hongkongers that the Chinese regime would soon disappear and Hong Kong’s values would outlast any dictatorship during his Lunar New Year greeting to Hongkongers.

On Jan. 21, the day before the start of the New Lunar Year of the rabbit, Hong Kong Watch, a nonprofit human rights organization, shared a video of Lord Chris Patten of Barnes, the last governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997.

Patten first wished Hongkongers Kung Hei Fat Choi in Cantonese. He then shared that he is saddened by many Hongkongers leaving the city or becoming exiled. He said everything the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has done will make it disappear sooner or later into the rearview mirror of history, and the values represented by Hong Kong would last longer than any dictatorship anywhere, including in Beijing.

Patten’s new year wishes were paired with the Chinese instrumental version of Glory to Hong Kong, which was dubbed as an unofficial anthem during the anti-extradition movement in 2019.

He added that many Hongkongers, despite having no choice but to become exiles and migrate to the United Kingdom and other countries, have made huge contributions to wherever they now call home.

Patten is saddened that Hongkongers had to leave Hong Kong due to the comprehensive assault on Hong Kong’s freedom by Beijing communists. Adding that the so-called United Front friends of Beijing are accomplices of doing their bad work in Hong Kong.

The last governor reiterated he loves Hong Kong, and the city will always be on his mind.

And he and many others firmly believe that the dictatorship and everything it has done will bring the consequence it deserves.

Distinguish Between the CCP and Chinese People

David Alton, another advocate for human rights in China and Hong Kong, sent his new year greetings on Facebook on Jan. 22.

He believes it is necessary to distinguish between the Chinese Communist Party and the excellent Chinese people. Alton says his thoughts are always with the Uyghur Muslim people trapped in the Xinjiang camp, the Tibetan minority group, the suppressed Hongkongers, and the Taiwanese threatened by the regime.

Alton said he misses Cardinal Joseph Zen, Hong Kong jailed democrats and protesters, such as Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Joshua Wong Tsz-fung, Falun Gong, and other Chinese religious followers.

Alton reminded the viewers of a Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who was sent to prison for four years for reporting the lockdown of Wuhan and seeking the truth about COVID-19.

Patten’s Concerns about Hong Kong

Patten was the 28th and the last governor of Hong Kong up to the handover of Hong Kong to China.

Shortly after taking office, Patten promoted the 1995 political reform plan to accelerate democracy in Hong Kong. However, Lu Ping, then director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council of the Chinese Communist Party, denounced Patten as a “sinner of the century.”

In the end, although the Legislative Council passed Patten’s political reform plan, the CCP stopped it going forward. The regime prevented members of the Legislative Council elected in 1995 from transitioning to the Legislative Council after 1997 and formed a “temporary Legislative Council.”

On July 1, 2022, the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong Handover, at a Hong Kong Watch event, Patten called the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, “Officer Lee,” to emphasize a group of agents elected John Lee, not the people. He also made clear that Lee’s agenda was never about the economy, social reform, education, or the health care services in Hong Kong.

Patten stated that Lee used an iron fist tactic to suppress peaceful protesters as he was in charge of the police, and that is also how he became the chief executive of Hong Kong.

He further condemned the CCP for defining a patriot as “someone who must love the Communist Party.” He suspected that Anson Chan, Jimmy Lai, and Martin Lee were not patriots in the eyes of the regime.

Patten criticized the CCP for rewriting Hong Kong’s history textbooks, erasing any content that documented Hong Kong was once a British colony.

He believed that Hong Kong’s development was blooming before 2012. However, it turned upside down when the Chinese Communist Party interfered with Hong Kong affairs and produced the chief executive of Hong Kong, CY Leung Chun-ying.

Patten also criticized Xi Jinping for making everything worse since he took power.

He admitted that if Hongkongers remain in Hong Kong, they must accept a very different situation from those who have left Hong Kong.

While the last governor is unsure how long the situation will last, he said, “the most important thing we have to do is to make sure that we remain aware of what’s actually happening in Hong Kong and not to allow the Communists to spin their own story.”