Margaret Thatcher and Hong Kong

Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the UK, and the first female head of government in Europe, has died. Here are some pictures of her in a Hong Kong context:

Margaret Thatcher greeted with adulation while on a classic Hong Kong tram.

Less adulation for Maggie at the 1st July 2012 protest

There is a lot of anger nowadays over the role of the British government, and Thatcher in particular, for giving China control of Hong Kong and essentially washing their hands of the place. But the historical record is clear that actually Thatcher was against returning all of Hong Kong initially, and only acceded when Deng Xiaoping made it clear he would invade if necessary.

I leave the last word on the Hong Kong perspective to the Big Lychee, who is basically right about her influence and symbolism, and especially why so many are wrong about her.

Update: Oh, new last word: A broadcast interview with Margaret Thatcher about Hong Kong and China. Does anyone know more details about it, such as who is interviewing her and when?

Another update: A transcript of a speech in the House of Lords by Margaret Thatcher given in December 1992, soon after she become a member of that chamber. One depressing quote:

“It is already agreed that half the members of the Legislative Council will be directly elected in the year 2003. That means that there could be universal suffrage by 2007, 10 years after the end of Britain’s responsibility. It is not perfect perhaps, but it is a provision for steady and orderly progress towards full democratic elections.”

Her strong support for democracy and universal suffrage in Hong Kong, including Chris Patten’s attempts to expand the franchise in 1995 against the vehement opposition of the Chinese government and its local lackeys, should give the current pro-“business” anti-democracy forces in Hong Kong much pause.

The mask of shame

In Hong Kong, especially since the SARS crisis of 2003 when many people died from a mysterious contagious illness, it is considered extremely shocking and degenerate to act in any way that potentially increases the risk of infecting someone else with your germs. One symptom of this is that people infected with even a mild cold will wear what is essentially a surgical face mask, in other places normally only seen in operating theatres, in order to ostensibly prevent others from catching the illness. I suspect it’s probably also to mark oneself out so that everyone will know that a disease-carrier is nearby…

I’ve never seen someone non-Chinese wear this mask, so I was very excited and proud to be given one at the doctor’s today. I made sure I wore it prominently on the walk home, chest puffed out like a sick peacock. No-one gave me a second glance, but maybe they were just jealous… Breathing in my own germs, though, was a distinctly disgusting experience. That’ll teach me to get a cold!

Another example of heightened sensitivity to hygiene is that public lifts and doors proudly display how often they are sanitised, including in the example here where apparently someone comes by every 30 minutes… I don’t know how anyone can verify these claims. I saw this, of all places, at the Visa Office of the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry etc etc… I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like it on the Mainland. At least I hope so, otherwise there will be more to worry about than etiquette…