428
could be slipped past the powers-that-be. Slaughterhouse butchers, villagers in New Territories villages, hawkers in urban street-markets, taxi-drivers, factory-hands forced to commute on wildly inadequate bus-services, all were helped by schemes introduced by Denis. When I first joined the Hong Kong Administrative Service in 1972, I heard a good deal about the problems these "Bray-waves" caused to the bureaucrats who were teaching us the ropes, and who wanted nothing so much as a comfortable life, bolstered by rule-books which never needed to be questioned, but, having looked at what Denis did, and how he did it, I have no doubt at all that what he did was politically essential, well thought out, practicable, and necessary. Letters "B," the Small House Policy, the Hawker Control Force, the Mutual Aid Committees, and so much more, were the right solutions to real problems, and genuinely did alleviate real unfairness. All too often, after Denis moved on, his successors would hamstring his reforms by refusing to implement them in the spirit in which they were introduced, unfortunately, but I do not believe anyone reading in an unbiased way Denis' account of the introduction of Letters "B" (p. 76), or the Small House Policy (p. 163-166) could fail to see the need for the new policy, nor the skill and intelligence with which Denis undertook the work.
Reading this book, I was amazed to see just how many of the policies I attempted to implement had been introduced by Denis. In the Urban Services Department, the Home Affairs Department, and as District Officer in the New Territories, almost all the policies that governed my life had been introduced by him.
The later part of the book, on the years when Denis was "near the top," and at the top, will prove of interest to political historians in later years, giving glimpses of an insider's view of the negotiations on the future of Hong Kong. I personally found this part of the book duller and of less interest. Loyalty to the system makes the descriptions thin and the reticence is widespread. Nonetheless, this part of the book is without doubt of considerable historical value.
At the end of the book is a short “Epilogue” in which Denis gives his views on the political development of Hong Kong after his retirement. His utter rejection of the Patten position is made very clear, and his espousal of a slow-but-steady development towards universal suffrage for the Legislative Council and for the election of the Chief
428
could be slipped past the powers-that-be. Slaughterhouse butchers, villagers in New Territories villages, hawkers in urban street-markets, taxi-drivers, factory-hands forced to commute on wildly inadequate bus-services, all were helped by schemes introduced by Denis. When I first joined the Hong Kong Administrative Service in 1972, I heard a good deal about the problems these "Bray-waves" caused to the bureaucrats who were teaching us the ropes, and who wanted nothing so much as a comfortable life, bolstered by rule-books which never needed to be questioned, but, having looked at what Denis did, and how he did it, I have no doubt at all that what he did was politically essential, well thought out, practicable, and necessary. Letters "B," the Small House Policy, the Hawker Control Force, the Mutual Aid Committees, and so much more, were the right solutions to real problems, and genuinely did alleviate real unfairness. All too often, after Denis moved on, his successors would hamstring his reforms by refusing to implement them in the spirit in which they were introduced, unfortunately, but I do not believe anyone reading in an unbiased way Denis' account of the introduction of Letters "B" (p. 76), or the Small House Policy (p. 163-166) could fail to see the need for the new policy, nor the skill and intelligence with which Denis undertook the work.
Reading this book, I was amazed to see just how many of the policies I attempted to implement had been introduced by Denis. In the Urban Services Department, the Home Affairs Department, and as District Officer in the New Territories, almost all the policies that governed my life had been introduced by him.
The later part of the book, on the years when Denis was "near the top," and at the top, will prove of interest to political historians in later years, giving glimpses of an insider's view of the negotiations on the future of Hong Kong. I personally found this part of the book duller and of less interest. Loyalty to the system makes the descriptions thin and the reticence is widespread. Nonetheless, this part of the book is without doubt of considerable historical value.
At the end of the book is a short “Epilogue” in which Denis gives his views on the political development of Hong Kong after his retirement. His utter rejection of the Patten position is made very clear, and his espousal of a slow-but-steady development towards universal suffrage for the Legislative Council and for the election of the Chief
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.