Patten grew up in an Irish Catholic family in west London, the son of an unsuccessful music publisher whose forebears had come to England from County Roscommon, Ireland. [4] Patten's father, Frank, dropped out [5] of university to become a jazz-drummer, later, a popular-music publisher. Frank and his mother Joan sent him to a Catholic primary school, Our Lady of the Visitation, in Greenford, and later awarded a scholarship [5] [6] to the independent St Benedict's School in Ealing, west London, where he won an exhibition [1] [7] to read Modern History at Balliol College, Oxford. Patten believed that under the Basic Law, all contracts signed before 1997 should be honored. Regarding Hong Kong’s future, Patten firmly defended British interests and took the chance to show significant resolve on issues relating to Hong Kong affairs before 1997. In reply, Lu Ping gave a press conference which was full of threats including the breaking up of the negotiation if British tried to go ahead on their own (p.61). As Patten wrote, Gargan, Edward A. (18 September 1995). "Pro-China Party Appears Big Loser in Hong Kong Election". The New York Times. Grice, Elizabeth (19 July 2012). "Lord Patten: 'It's not the BBC's job to be jokey' ". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Vivid, very well-written, First Confession joins the highest tier of recent works by British politicians' Paschal Donohoe, Irish Times

minutely observe[s] how China broke its promises - first insidiously and gradually and then openly and suddenly - and the impact on the lives of Hong Kongers ... Patten's diaries of his frustrating yet rewarding stint as governor cover the years from 1992 to the 1997 handover ... [he] is a genial and self-deprecating companion through the years leading up to the handover ... In the course of his diaries, Patten argues convincingly that for Britain or any other country to abandon liberal principles and yield to the Chinese Communist party's demands at every opportunity brings neither political nor commercial benefits. The trade and investment statistics he cites from the final decades of British rule do indeed suggest there is little correlation between grovelling and real rewards for business. Victor Mallet, Financial Times Espinoza, Javier. "Oxford University students who don't like Cecil Rhodes should 'think about being educated elsewhere', says chancellor". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 . Retrieved 14 January 2016. William Westerman Pathfinders awards to North America". Balliol College, University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023 . Retrieved 28 March 2023. The original Pathfinders programme at Balliol was started in 1955 by Bill Coolidge (Balliol 1924). Of course, both sides did not want to see the negotiation fail. Lu said that Patten’s insistence upon defending the principle of Chinese sovereignty on Hong Kong harmed the relationship between China and the UK. Lu planned to give Patten a gift (perhaps an agreement on the airport) but due to Patten’s tough attitude, Patten would not receive anything then. In Chinese culture, reciprocity is a virtue. If Patten gave way in the negotiation, British would also get what they wanted in return. However, Lu’s expectation was turned down. Finally, Lu warned Patten not to announce anything at all unless the agreement was first cleared from the Chinese side.

In July 2014, Patten criticised The Practice of the 'One Country, Two Systems' Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region white paper issued by the People's Republic of China for interfering with Hong Kong's judicial independence. In an interview with the Financial Times, he stated "In a system of rule of law, judges are independent and should not be questioned for instructions or forced to abandon their views on procedural fairness and what is legal due to certain political considerations." Patten also added that the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed that year was an international agreement between China and the United Kingdom, which guaranteed that Hong Kong would remain unchanged for 50 years, including the freedoms and civil liberties enjoyed by Hong Kong people. He said that if Hong Kongers believe that the Sino-British Joint Declaration has been undermined, it is completely reasonable to express concerns to China and Britain and lodge a peaceful protest. [40] [41]

Cheung, Tony (25 November 2016). "Chris Patten warns Hong Kong pro-independence antics 'dilute support' for democracy". South China Morning Post. Beyond doubt, Chris Patten as the last governor of Hong Kong has leave some indelible marks in the city, which has always been a key player in global economy and, lately, politics. It is within readers' expectation to get some insights from his book on the past, present and future of Hong Kong. However, this book will probably disappoint everyone who wish to learn more about the city through his writing. Conversely, Chinese delegates are much more reserved. Plans and intentions are not open to the public and a wide range of facts and ideas are often brought to negotiations. Chinese negotiators often prefer settling disagreements ‘under the table’ with formal negotiations serving as more or less a ‘rubber stamp’ for decisions reached behind the scenes. Unlike British, Chinese prefer hiding their intentions and let their counterparts guess their preferences. For example, Lu Ping, Head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, PRC (hereafter Lu) did not directly denounce Patten’s tough negotiation style. Instead, Lu emphasized how he had maintained strong friendships with Patten’s four predecessors. He implicitly used the skills of ‘China-speak for itself’, warning Patten to “better toe the line just like the [four predecessors]” (p.71). In other words, Lu wanted Patten to soften Patten’s tough negotiation style and cooperated with them.Patten was the Conservative Party candidate for Lambeth Central at the February 1974 general election, but lost to the Labour Party candidate, Marcus Lipton. He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Bath in 1979, and served until he was unseated in 1992. The diary helps me conduct different thought experiments. If David Wilson had been the last governor, maybe there would have been no need for any non-binding promises at all! Both the territory and the populace would automatically welcome a peaceful reunification with the Motherland—splendid!

Part of the reason that he despairs in watching our own democratic norms under threat – proroguing parliament, undermining the independence of the judiciary and the neutrality of the civil service, threatening to ignore treaties in Northern Ireland – is that he knows it makes it harder to criticise other regimes. Patten Lecture: China and Europe in a less certain world". Blavatnik School of Government . Retrieved 28 March 2023. In 1989, he was promoted to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for the Environment and became responsible for the unpopular Community Charge (or so-called "Poll Tax"). Though he robustly defended the policy at the time, in his 2006 book Not Quite the Diplomat (published in the United States as Cousins and Strangers: America, Britain and Europe in the New Century) he claims to have thought it was a mistake on Margaret Thatcher's part. He also introduced, and steered through Parliament, the major legislation that became the Environmental Protection Act 1990. In 2016, in the wake of a student movement to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes from a college in Oxford, as had happened in South Africa, Patten said that Oxford students who did not like Cecil Rhodes should "think about being educated elsewhere". [28]As an insider's account, The Hong Kong Diaries is filled with that daily sense of grappling with a multi-headed hydra ... There is an inescapable poignancy to reading this diary in 2022: it is a snapshot of a unique moment at the end of empire, and a now fading picture of an extraordinary society that flourished in its brief moment of freedom. Isabel Hilton, Times Literary Supplement The 1996 Hong Kong parody film Bodyguards of the Last Governor, presents 'Christ Pattern' as the Governor of Hong Kong. In addition to the name, Pattern appears to be based heavily on Patten, matching his appearance, political affiliation (Conservative) and family (a wife and two daughters with him in Hong Kong). His role however is minor as the film depicts him being replaced with one month to go before the handover. He is portrayed by Noel Lester Rands. [57] However, British thought differently. Patten alleged that China’s intention did not focus on the legality of contracts, but cared much on confidence in the market, lower morale and investor confidence (p.85). Taking property rights seriously in the contract, Patten defended British rights in Hong Kong all the way before 1997. He wanted China to know that Britain was still fully in power before 1997. Admittedly, any political reform before 1997 was set to influence Hong Kong for many years to come. For this reason, both China and the United Kingdom agreed to extend the “One Country, Two Systems” until 2047. Patten’s democratic reform in the LegCo would affect the future of Hong Kong society. Therefore, the implementation of democratic reform in Hong Kong would annoy China. Patten might not know or realize that Chinese are taught to be loyal and obedient to their leaders. Lord Patten steps down as MAP President". Map-uk.org. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013 . Retrieved 22 April 2013. A major event covered by a principled professional. Those researching the period would find telling notes about key politicians engaged or witnessing the last few years of Britain governorship over HK. Though hard it is to go through what is literally a diary, last 2 chapters summarise the core belief system.

wonderfully waspish, fascinating and rude in spades about all the people who deserve nothing less. Stephen Vines, Literary Review University of Ulster News Release – UU Unveils Summer Honorary Graduates". News.ulster.ac.uk. 28 February 2005. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 . Retrieved 30 June 2010.Sir John Bowring ( Governor of Hong Kong 1854–1859) and Sir John Pope Hennessy ( Governor of Hong Kong 1877–1882) – a Conservative MP before he entered the Colonial Service – were predecessors. Because the 2022 polemic is much shorter than the diaries and is also more current, some readers may turn there first. But the journal entries provide a foundation for understanding why the circumspect optimism of 1997 has been so tragically confounded under Beijing’s later rule.