"What the British achieved in Hong Kong could be said to reflect a Chinese ideal," writes William McGurn. "The veteran Chinese journalist Tsang Ki-fan put it this way just before he died in 1988: 'This is the only Chinese society that, for a brief span of 100 years, lived through a...time when no man had to live in fear of the midnight knock on the door.' How sad to see it all sacrificed at the precise moment when history has vindicated the experiment."
When Britain agreed to hand over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China come 1997, officials explained that the colony had nothing to worry about: China was reforming and would allow Hong Kong to continue its dynamic capitalist ways; besides, Britain was going to leave its prize possession with a representative government up and working well beforehand. But the brain drain that started shortly thereafter--only compounded by the brutal crackdown in Tiananmen Square--makes it clear that Hong Kong people trust in neither Chinese nor British promises.
The author examines the 1984 Joint Declaration that set these events in motion, Britain's failure to enforce that accord, and the resultant plight of Hong Kong's 5.8 million citizens, most of whom hold British passports that do not allow them to live in England. McGurn argues that the United States should be concerned about their plight, not only for humanitarian reasons but because of the huge stake American business has in Hong Kong as both a gateway to China and a regional base for business.