One could ask why read a book about Hong Kong written in the early 1960s recounting the author's three years of residence in the 1950s. The answer is that it's important not to forget history. When the author wrote of his experiences working as a fisheries expert in a Hong Kong university, the year 1997 was thirty-five years off and no one was really concerned about the colony's future.

Author Ommanney first arrived in HK with a naval force at the end of the second World War in August 1945. His early history of Hong Kong is very well written, in fact so well written that I instantly recognised several verbatim paragraphs that can be found on current internet sites that cover the subject (missing the quote marks and source--shame shame--why not give credit where credit is due?).

I lived in Hong Kong twice (once in the 1980's and again in the mid 1990's) and I found Ommanney's descriptions of the New Territories, the people, the food, HK customs, all very evocative and nostalgic. But I also found his words musing about HK's future instructive. The colony, he wrote, "is due to return to China in thirty-five years from now if the lease is not renewed. No one knows what the intentions of the Chinese People's Republic are with regard to this tiny foreign appendage to its territory. China could swallow it up easily enough, but at present seems content to use it as a source of foreign exchange and a window on the free world" (pp. 12-13). As I write this, China is building bases in the South China Sea on tiny atolls, staking its claim and smarting over President-elect Trump's taking of a phone call from the Taiwan President (as it challenges the PRC's 'One China policy'). This book reminded me that China has a very long history and views time differently than many of us do. One of its dynasties alone (the Han, 220 BC-206 AD) lasted longer than all of the USA's history since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It will be interesting to see where China's borders are in another thirty-five years. ( )