A Modern History of Hong Kong by Steve Tsang
This is the first serious history of Hong Kong to cover the whole period of British rule, from its first occupation in 1841 to the handover in 1997. Steve Tsang is well-equipped to write it. A respected Oxford scholar brought up in Hong Kong he has drawn on a vast array of sources, Chinese as well as British, to produce a thorough and well-crafted study which should appeal to the general reader as well as to the specialist.
Hong Kong''s survival as a British territory for nearly 150 years is a remarkable story. It owes something to luck, something to the vicissitudes of Chinese history, much to the generations of Chinese who built its prosperity, and a good deal to the British administrators who made that prosperity possible. Luck came into the equation at the beginning when Captain Elliott chose Hong Kong (with its magnificent harbour) as the first settlement. It also played a part in the reestablishment of British （rather than Chinese）rule when the wartime Japanese occupation ended in 1945. The weakness of successive Chinese governments in the face of foreign invasion and civil war allowed the British to consolidate their hold over the territory and gave the successive waves of Chinese immigrants good reason to seek refuge there.
The nature and quality of British administration evolved over the years. In the 19th century it was rudimentary, its purpose to advance British interests; for the Chinese population it was enough to be left alone. By the 1980s the colonial administration had been transformed into (in Tsang''s words) "a government that met all the requirements for the best possible government in the Chinese political tradition" which he defines as "efficiency, fairness, honesty, benevolent paternalism and non-intrusion into the lives of ordinary people". From the 1970s onwards the desire to control their own destinies gradually became part of the aspirations of Hong Kong people �C a process well described by Dr. Tsang in charting what he calls "the rise of the Hong Kongers".
It was always clear that Hong Kong was �C to use the hackneyed but apposite phrase �C a borrowed place living on borrowed time. The greater part of the land area was literally borrowed �C through the 1898 agreement under which the New Territories were leased for 99 years. In the early 20th century there was intermittent debate about trying to convert the lease into a permanent cession. Later on it came to be accepted that while China would no doubt seek the return of the whole of Hong Kong eventually, the day might be postponed into the indefinite future so long as Hong Kong was useful to China in British hands. That usefulness survived the communist takeover on the mainland in 1949. But by the late 1970s it was becoming increasingly apparent that 1997 was a political deadline for the Chinese just as it was a legal one for the British. Dr. Tsang describes well the manoeuvrings and negotiations which led to the signature in 1984 of the joint Declaration providing for the return of Hong Kong to China. He brings the story up to date with a generally balanced account of Mr. Patten’s governorship, and of the disputes, mainly about elections which dominated the run up to the handover in 1997.
Dr. Tsang has his favourites among the governors of Hong Kong, and (perhaps because the official papers for the last 30 years are not yet open) he underrates the personal contributions of some of the more recent ones, notably Sir Edward Youde (1982-86) and Lord Wilson (1987-92), both of whom led Hong Kong skillfully through times of great difficulty. But this is to carp. For those who want to understand the importance of the territory''s British legacy in its continuing success, Dr. Tsang'' study is likely to remain the best guide for some time to come.
《香港现代史》 曾锐生著
这是第一本认真研究香港在英国统治时期的历史著作，时间跨度从1841年英国占领至1997年香港回归。曾锐生写这本书具有得天独厚的条件。作为一位受人敬重的牛津大学学者，曾锐生从小在香港长大。他从中国和英国文化中广泛汲取营养，为我们奉上了一部系统全面而又匠心独运的著作。无论普通读者还是专业人士都将会对之青睐。
香港纳入英国版图，前后发展近150年，这是一段不寻常的经历。究其原因，有时运的因素，有中国历史变迁的因素，更大程度上是因为一代又一代的中国人创造了香港的繁荣。当然，也与让香港繁荣成为可能的英国统治者密切相关。时运因素在一开始艾略特船长选择香港（具有极佳的港口条件）作为第一个居留地就发挥了作用。在1945年日本结束对香港的军事占领，英国（而不是中国）恢复对香港的统治中，时运因素也发挥了一定的作用。面对外敌入侵和国内战乱，当时的中国政府软弱无力。这使英国得以巩固对香港的统治，也引发了一波接一波的中国移民者到香港寻求避难。
英国在香港统治的性质和特征随着时间的推移不断发展变化。十九世纪英国对香港的统治是非常简单的，目的就是谋求英国利益。在香港的中国人是被忽略的。到了上世纪八十年代，英国殖民政府已经转变为（用曾锐生的话说）“一个符合中国政治传统关于最佳政府全部标准的政府”。在曾锐生看来，这些标准就是“效率、公正、诚信、恩抚家长主义和不干涉私人生活”。从上世纪七十年代以后，掌握自己命运的要求逐渐成为香港人的渴望。曾锐生在他所谓的“香港人的崛起”的叙述中对这一过程有着很好的描述。
很显然，香港是一个借来的地方，靠借来的时间过活。这话虽是老生常谈，但却恰如其分。香港大部分陆地都是借来的――根据1898年的协议，新界的租期是99年。在二十世纪早期，曾经有过断断续续的讨论，试图把租借变为永久割让。后来人们接受了这样的现实――尽管中国无疑义地将谋求最终收回香港，但这一天可能被无限期推迟，只要香港在英国人手中对中国有益处。1949年共产党在大陆夺取政权后，这种益处继续存在。然而，到了上世纪七十年代后期，人们越来越清楚地认识到，1997年对于中国方面是政治上的最后期限，就如同对于英国方面是法律上的最后期限。曾锐生博士详细描述了确认香港回归中国的1984年联合声明签署之前纵横捭阖的谈判过程。他的叙述还直至末代港督彭定康，对其任期和引发的争议（主要是关于1997年政权交接之前过渡时期的选举）作了较为客观平衡的描述。
曾锐生博士对历任港督有着自己的偏好。可能是最近三十年的官方文件尚未对外公开的原因，他低估了一些晚近港督的个人贡献，例如尤德爵士(1982-86)和 威尔逊勋爵(1987-92)，他们两位都曾领导香港渡过难关。但这有些吹毛求疵了。对那些想了解英国留给香港的遗产对于香港持续性成功的重要性的人来说，曾锐生博士的著作在未来一个时期将会是最佳参考。
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