Hong Kong Books

Compared with "Corruption And Market In Contemporary China", this book is actually less thorough and indigenous. So "the most thorough examination of corruption in that country to date" is a false claim. The good part, though, is the Hong Kong story and its coverage of the anti-corruption campaign history. The theory part is as weak as the other book, the use of the equilibrium concept is awkward and fruitless. But these two, along with "Remaking the Chinese Leviathan", are the best and most up to date available.

Please take the title of this review into serious consideration. The first few pages, made me want to put the book down. Although I don't think I would be willing to read the 600+ page novel again, I am glad that I read it. Still in the process of reading it (I'm at pg.457), it is interesting to say the least. I was a little lost in the beginning but once I got into the story of the main character (Mary), the read became easier. I was constantly disrupted by words I did not understand and finally decided to write them down and keep moving-- the book is still readable without words like "anachronistically".

This is the first book that I've read that focuses on the personal lives as strongly as the political and historical ties. Since it's "based on true events", those areas of politics are quite believable. It is pleasant to see this mix. If I could change two things about this novel I would: use smaller words and condense! If someone has ADD when it comes to reading, be scared of its mighty size but if you can be patient, it's worth the read, even just this once.

An American friend in Beijing once said that anyone who has
spent time among the Chinese eventually concocts a "grand
unified theory of China."
To a remarkable extent, Chris Patten didn't.
Patten was the last British governor of Hong Kong, and during
his five years there he gained a reputation as a combative
opponent of the Chinese Communist government and as a champion
of Hong Kong's nascent democracy.
One might expect, therefore, that his book would be another
example of the "China-bashing" so popular among those Western
opinion-makers who relish a fight with Beijing. Instead, Patten
offers calm, non-alarmist advice, with the wise observation that
we would be better off not treating China as a special case.
"The alleged uniqueness of China," he says, "blurs
comprehension and mangles policy-making."
He notes that one side of the how-to-deal-with-China debate is
dominated by appeasement-minded "Old China Hands," while the
other features hardliners who see China as "the last evil
empire."
Both outlooks are wrong, Patten says: "We are lured into
thinking that there is a special, an exact way of dealing with
China - which turns out on close examination to be one part
correct and four parts mumbo-jumbo."
While both the confrontational and appeasement mindsets
distort Western policy, what is even worse is the Western
tendency to oscillate between the two approaches.
Patten observes that "one minute we sell arms to Taiwan and
stamp our feet about human-rights abuses, the next we are
prepared to eat the humblest of pies and even curtail our own
civil liberties (trying to segregate demonstrators, for example,
lest they are seen by a visiting Chinese leader) to accommodate
Chinese Communist prejudices."
This gives the hard men in Beijing the opportunity to play the
two sides off against each other, particularly during the
ludicrous annual debate in the U.S. Senate over China's

"most-favoured-nation" trade status.
Patten sarcastically describes how senators bluster about
China having to shape up, whether on human rights, arms
proliferation, property rights or market access. The Chinese
respond with a few symbolic gestures and muse about buying their
new jetliners from Europe's Airbus rather than Boeing.
Meanwhile, business interests furiously lobby the senators and
worry publicly about losing access to the "world's biggest
market."
The senators eventually endorse the status quo for another
year and the Chinese come away with all their cynicism about
Western "values" intact.
Patten recommends a different approach, tougher than the Old
China Hands might like but not overtly confrontational. Simply
put, he says China should be treated like any other country,
held to the same standards.
If China mistreats political dissidents, the West should be as
critical as it was regarding the Soviet Union and South Africa.
On trade, Chinese access to Western markets must be matched by
openness and transparency in the Chinese economy. Sensibly,
Patten recommends delinking trade from political issues so China
cannot play its usual game of releasing a few dissidents in
return for trade concessions.
There are weaknesses in East And West, including long sections
of political boilerplate and a studied unwillingness to confront
the legacy of Western imperialism in China.
But Patten displays admirably clear thinking on the current
situation and good counsel regarding future dealings with
Beijing's red mandarins.

It's refreshing to read a very concise, opinionated survey of Hong Kong, but the guide's tone sometimes veers into off-putting cruelty and mistakes snobbery for edginess. Hence the repeated derogatory comments about people in Dacron (does paying $400 for a pair of Prada pants really make one superior, or just stupid?) and some obvious comments that are meant to be outre but aren't--would anyone disagree that HK's skyline is far more impressive than NYC's? Some of the "insider" travel tips (ie, having concierge make reservations at the China Club) are stuff that you could read in popular, non-luxe Web sites.

Overall, though, not a bad resource.

I have to read this book because I'm taking a course in Hong Kong Company Law at the university which is exactly where the author, Ms Stott is teaching. What I found in this book is an inheritance of unclear and unexhaustive coverage of law that I saw in Ms Stott's An Introduction to Hong Kong Business Law (another book I have to read for the course in Hong Kong Business Law).

We should appreciate that Company Law is such a technical area among the many different areas of law. It is complicated, and difficult to master, especially because of the common law system of Hong Kong which means that cases play a vital role in understanding and interpreting the provisions. What Ms Stott has missed is exactly a complete extract of cases which means understanding of cases can be hugely undermined.

Another thing Ms Stott has missed is a clear explanation of the provisions----the explanation in the textbook is usually short and lacks depth which makes the study of Company Law an uphill task.

The last thing worth being pointed out is the language the author uses. Maybe Ms Stott, being a barrister prefers sophisticated language and possibly wants to appear like a linguist. However, as a student, I will say those flowery language is of no use for facilitating study. I will say she actually sometimes picked a wrong choice of words and could therefore cost students more time to understand her.(And please don't get me wrong. I'm not a student with poor language skills. I actually scored an A for my first year English course!)

From a student's perspective, this book just does not qualify to be a good textbook, let alone a book that can be relied on. If you are told this is the prescribed textbook for your study of HK Company Law, I will do 2 things: one, I wonder why people still adopt such a poorly written text; two, I suggest you to find some more books on the subject, or you may be driven crazy.

This book is written by a Hong Kong foreign correspondent, who really knows the life of the overseas reporter, and renders it faithfully and amusingly. A great book for people interested in journalists, Hong Kong, or just a good read.

This is an adequate map of HK. Given the limited choice of maps, it is the best I've found. HK has expanded so much that it is hard to capture, with sufficient detail, and still cover the area. A necessary guide, nonetheless.

The book provided an interesting read, but I felt it was too short and lacked detail and depth. It would have been a more satisfying read if there was more detail for example - detailing the time and dates more precisely, more background information on the victims, the victims families and perpetrators. Overall, an interesting read, nice to take peak into the dark side of Hong Kong.

This is a translation and commentary of chapter 6 of the Huainanzi. LeBlanc does a good job, however, it would only be of interest 2 those REALLY interested in the Huainanzi. The footnotes often take up the entire page! Deals with the topic of Ganying - resonance/stimulus and response. Has an interesting chart documenting all the quotations used in the Huainanzi from other texts such as the Laozi, Zhuangzi, the Hanfeizi, etc.

This book is primarily handy for imagery more than for text. It is a nice addition to the library of someone interested in Buddhism and art history. It may be more suited to the specialist and not the casual reader.