Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer View image in fullscreen ‘The politics, in his words, were a “snake pit”. Sadly, many world leaders are still trying to turn a blind eye to tyranny as they naively think shaking hands with them will favour world economy. There were serious ructions with China along the way, and some within Hong Kong itself, about the new airport, passport rights, civil service pensions, Vietnamese refugees and, more than anything else, Patten’s reforms. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

The magnates were aghast, the diplomats shuddered and the Chinese, who loathed such notions, ostracised the governor after one round of talks in Beijing . The book concludes with an account of what has happened in Hong Kong since the handover, a powerful assessment of recent events and Patten’s reflections on how to deal with China – then and now. But the governor’s frustration with much of the business elite, anxious only to kowtow to Beijing and go on making a lot of money, was almost as great. But he had one supreme advantage – the loyal backing of John Major, the prime minister, and Douglas Hurd, the foreign secretary, back in London.In The Hong Kong Diaries Chris Patten details his struggle as the last governor of Hong Kong to energise the dying days of British rule. 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 . You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. a terrific tale, one that will appeal not just to Sinologists but to all historians, since it is effectively a record of the end days of an empire .

The book concludes with an account of what has happened in Hong Kong since the handover, a powerful assessment of recent events and Patten's reflections on how to deal with China - then and now. His diaries are full of extraordinarily sharp observations, witticisms, and self-deprecating humour.

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. Patten’s Hong Kong years have been chronicled before, not least by him, while Jonathan Dimbleby’s account of the road to 1997 was based on extensive on-the-spot access during his governorship. As an insider's account, The Hong Kong Diaries is filled with that daily sense of grappling with a multi-headed hydra .

It struck me that in hindsight we had the benefit of some effective political figures, including John Major, during that time - if only we had known it then.With hindsight, ex-governor Lord Chris Patten revisits his custodianship of Hong Kong in this genuine recollection of his encounters with the Communist regime. details his persistent but ultimately failed efforts to secure the continuance of Hong Kong's freedoms . The book is a collection of diaries from the last governor of Hong Kong, who is one of the greatest politicians in his time.