The last ride

Chris Patten, the last British Governor of Hong Kong, left his government offices, just hours ahead of the colony8217;s reversion to Chinese rule. At the same time, Chinese President Jiang Zemin arrived at the Hong Kong airport. About 4,000 foreign guests and dignitaries travelled to the territory for the handover ceremonies at midnight. Patten, who has been Governor since 1992, took leave of the 250 employees at the building and their relatives. Afterwards the Governor and his family were driven round the government building three times in two limousines. In Chinese folklore this means the farewell will not be for ever.

The government offices, which have been used by governors both as a residence and place of work for more than 100 years, will be used after the change of power as a government guest house. But a part of the building will probably be used as a museum. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Foreign Minister Robin Cook and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will boycott the swearing-in of the new legislature. The other guests will attend the handover and the government inauguration under HKSAR8217;s first Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. While Beijing has promised autonomy for the local government in Hong Kong, some Western countries are sceptical about future freedoms in the island under Communist rule.

Among the guests will be UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Kamala Sinha, Colombian President Ernesto Samper, German Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, Russian Foreign Minister Evgeny Primakov and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.