East and West: China, Power, and the Future of Asia

Asia-watchers can't afford to miss Patten's trenchant book, which is part memoir, part political treatise and part rattling secular sermon. As the last British governor of Hong Kong (he took the job in 1992), Patten steered the negotiations for the handover of the colony to China in 1997, while still working to strengthen Hong Kong's institutions and infrastructure. As well as detailing the transition, he wittily and intrepidly tackles broader, highly topical issues. How should we view the stunning growth and recent crisis of Asian ""tiger economies"" such as Singapore and Taiwan? Patten's crisp and commonsensical answers leave no room for wishy-washy cultural relativism. ""The same laws of political gravity apply to everyone, everywhere,"" he says; ""the apples and the lychees descend perpendicularly on every continent."" And how should we treat China, which many Western observers consider enigmatic and culturally unique? Forthrightly! urges Patten, and delivers a blistering indictment of the Chinese government's treatment of its own people and the West's cosseting. A self-styled ""liberal conservative,"" Patten champions small, thrifty governments, well-regulated financial institutions, rule of law, guarantee of individual rights and a safety net protecting workers. The roar of this book was apparently too loud for Rupert Murdoch, who refused to let HarperCollins U.K. publish it. The controversy should simply heighten the buzz among pundits and policy makers, both in East and West. Editor, Peter Bernstein; rights Chelsea West Inc; author tour. (Sept.)