The Gate to China

A New History of the People's Republic & Hong Kong

The Gate to China
Michael Sheridan
RRP:
NZ$ 27.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 22.39
Paperback
h198 x 129mm - 480pg
29 Sep 2022 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9780008356262
Out Of Stock
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Essential reading for all who study, trade or deal with China. A superb new history of the rise of China and the fall of Hong Kong to authoritarian rule The rise of China and the fall of Hong Kong to authoritarian rule are told with unique insight in this new history by Michael Sheridan, drawing on eyewitness reporting over three decades, interviews with key figures and documents from archives in China and the West. The story sweeps the reader from the earliest days of trade through the Opium Wars of the 19th century to the age of globalisation and the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China. It ends with the battle for democracy on the city' s streets and the ultimate victory of the Chinese Communist Party. The voices of Hong Kong people - eloquent, smart and bold - speak out compellingly here. How did it come to this? We learn from private papers that Margaret Thatcher anguished over the fate of Hong Kong, sought secret American briefings on how to handle China and put her trust in an adviser who was torn between duty and pride. The deal they struck did not last. The Chinese version of this history, so often unheard, emerges from memoirs and documents, many of them new to the foreign reader. They show that China' s negotiating tactics confounded its foes time after time. Sheridan' s book tells how Hong Kong was the vital gateway as the People' s Republic reformed its economy and changed the world, emerging to challenge the West with a new order that raised fundamental questions about freedom, identity and progress. It is critical reading for all who study, trade or deal with China.
Early praise for Michael Sheridan' s The Gate to China' A delightful piece of writing and research which describes the remarkable history behind the handover of this unique and exciting city. The unravelling of the deal between the Chinese Communists and the British gives a bitter-sweet flavor to Sheridan' s brilliant portraits of the individuals who played a role on both sides' Jasper Becker, author of The Chinese' Deeply researched and beautifully written, Sheridan' s book provides a fresh perspective on the extraordinary story of Hong Kong. His depiction of the motives, fears, internal struggles, and negotiating tactics of the Chinese officials who dealt with Hong Kong is a revelation, with broader lessons for a world watching the rise of China . . . Essential reading for anyone interested in the saga of a city whose fate has dominated the headlines' Mike Chinoy, former CNN Senior Asia Correspondent and Beijing Bureau ChiefPraise for Michael Sheridan' s Romans' Enchanting and extravagant . . . As an elegiac evocation of the Roman genius loci . . . I know of nothing to touch its wit, its poetry and its intelligence' Richard Holmes, Daily Telegraph' A lingering, evocative description . . . vivid moments of historical drama' Harriet Paterson, The Times' A delightful excursion through the history, politics, and culture of the Eternal City' Kirkus Reviews' Eternal, maybe; eternally corrupt, certainly, is his thesis, elegantly and sometimes wittily expressed in a series of interconnecting essays' Robert Carver, New Statesman' The reader . . . will be delighted and will wish the book were longer' Library Journal
Michael Sheridan is a journalist and writer.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9780008356262
Published: 29 Sep 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: William Collins
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Paperback
Height: 198mm
Width: 129mm
Spine: 30mm
Weight: 350g
Pages: 480

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