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ABSTRACT
Murray MacLehose, the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, was the longest-serving Governor in the history of Hong Kong. MacLehose proposed and implemented a series of policies that brought significant reforms to Hong Kong. These reforms included housing, transportation, anti-corruption, welfare, and education. The reforms did not only improve people's living standards, but also created for Hong Kong people a sense of belonging to the colony. While the mainstream of Hong Kong society claimed MacLehose was a respected governor, was MacLehose's ten-year-governorship in actual fact praiseworthy? This article will revisit MacLehose's governorship and show that MacLehose was not as perfect as the locals think – he was even reluctant to implement some reforms, particularly political reforms, anti-corruption and social security. However, this was because he was trying to balance local and British interests within the colony. He indeed worked hard to perform his duty and defended well Hong Kong's interests during his governorship.
Acknowledgement
The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and Patrick Brousseau for their constructive comments. Any remaining errors are the author’s alone. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Lady MacLehose of Beoch, who passed away peacefully in South Ayrshire in her 100th year on 16 February 2020.
Notes
1 A. Donald, Dictionary of National Biographies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 788–789. “Jock” is a name for a Scotsman and “hose” is an old name for sock.
2 C. Lau, Interview by J. Tang, 1982 (access to recording provided by Television Broadcasting).
3 D. Gao and Y. Shen, From Pottinger to Patten: A Biography of Hong Kong Governors. Hong Kong: Sune Global, 1994, p. 200.
4 J. Tang, Interview, 1982 (access to recording provided by Television Broadcasting).
5 The Cabinet of the British Government, Cabinet Ministerial Committee on Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Long Term Study (CAB 134/2945). London: The National Archives, 1969.
6 R. Yep and T. L. Lui, ‘Revisiting the Golden era of MacLehose and the Dynamics of Social Reforms’. China Information Vol. 24. Issue 3 (2010): 249–-272.
7 C. M. MacLehose, C M MacLehose to Sir Leslie Monson, Mr Wilford, Mr Morgan and Mr Laird (FCO 40/329). London: The National Archives, 1971.
8 Ibid.
9 K. M. Kwong, Governing Hong Kong: From British to Chinese Rule. Hong Kong: Enrich Professional Publishing, 2015, p. 185.
10 MacLehose, C M MacLehose to Sir Leslie Monson, Mr Wilford, Mr Morgan and Mr Laird (FCO 40/329), op. cit.
11 A. Y. C. King, ‘Administrative Absorption of Politics in Hong Kong: Emphasis on the Grass Roots Level’. Asian Survey Vol. 15. Issue 5 (1975): 422–439.
12 MacLehose, C M MacLehose to Sir Leslie Monson, Mr Wilford, Mr Morgan and Mr Laird (FCO 40/329), op. cit.
13 J. Gittings, ‘Lord MacLehose: Governor Who Sought to Modernise Hong Kong’. Guardian, June 2, 2000, p. 53.
14 C. M. MacLehose, Interview by S. Yu, June 9, 1997 (access to recording provided by Max Media Asia).
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19 Ure, op. cit., p. 22.
20 Mui-tsai means “little sister” in Cantonese, describes young Chinese women who worked as domestic servants, in brothels or affluent Chinese households in traditional Chinese society.
21 Ibid., pp. 12, 218–219.
22 S. Tsang, Governing Hong Kong: Administrative Officers from the 19th Century to the Handover to China. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2007, pp. 142–143.
23 Ibid., pp. 140–147.
24 McKinsey & Company, McKinsey Report on Strengthening the Machinery of Government of Hong Kong: Includes Summary of Report (FCO 40/410). London: The National Archives, 1971.
25 K. Chadah, The MacLehose Years 1971–1982. Hong Kong: South China Morning Post, 1982, p. 41.
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37 Goodstadt, op. cit., p. 145.
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39 A. Blair-Kerr, Second Report of the Commission of Inquiry under Sir Alastair Blair-Kerr. Hong Kong: Government Printer, 1973, pp. 20–22.
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48 Ibid., p. 387.
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51 Ibid., p. 387.
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53 Ibid.
54 P. K. Li, Governing Hong Kong: Insights from the British Declassified Files. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 2012, pp. 61–63.
55 Liu, op. cit., p. 424.
56 Ibid., p. 426.
57 Tang, op. cit.
58 K. M. Cheng, Interview by J. Tang, 1982 (access to recording provided by Television Broadcasting).
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63 Ming Pao, op. cit., p. 124.
64 Ng, op. cit.
65 R. Ho, Interview by J. Tang, 1982 (access to recording provided by Television Broadcasting).
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67 T. L. Tsim, The Other Hong Kong Report 1989. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1989, p. 171.
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73 Chadah, op. cit., p. 24.
74 Ho, op. cit.
75 W. T. Zheng and S. L. Wong, Hong Kong Identity Card. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, 2004, p. 132.
76 Liu, op. cit., p. 369.
77 Ibid., p. 369.
78 South China Morning Post, ‘Drive to Place 3,750 Goes On’. South China Morning Post, June 7, 1975, p. 1.
79 The Standard, ‘Govt Now Calls Them Illegal Immigrants’. The Standard, May 23, 1975, p. 1.
80 H. Cheng, ‘Vietnam Escape Trail Paved With Gold’. South China Morning Post, June 26, 1979, p. 1.
81 Ho, op. cit.
82 R. Carvalho, ‘How Europe Can Learn from the Hard Lessons of Hong Kong’s Vietnamese Refugee Crisis’. South China Morning Post, September 14, 2015, p. 8.
83 Yep and Lui, op. cit., pp. 249–272.
84 The British Government, Secretary of State’s Meeting with the International Committee of the TUC: Hong Kong (FCO 40/617). London: The National Archives, 1975.
85 Yep and Lui, op. cit., pp. 249–272.
86 Ibid.
87 Ibid.
88 Kwong, op. cit., p. 203.
89 Ibid., p. 204.
90 Ibid., p. 150.
91 Li, op. cit., p. 129.
92 Ibid., pp. 129–131, 136–143.
93 R. Yep, ‘The Crusade Against Corruption in Hong Kong in the 1970s: Governor MacLehose as a Zealous Reformer or Reluctant Hero?’ China Information Vol. 27. Issue 2 (2013): 201–202.
94 C. M. MacLehose, Hong Kong – Domestic Policies Up to the ’80s (FCO/701). London: The National Archives, 1976.
95 Ibid.
96 M. Friedman, Hong Kong Wrong (2016c21.1015). Washington, DC: Collected Works of Milton Friedman, Hoover Institution, 2006.
97 S. Tsang, Government and Politics. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1995, p. 246.
98 Tang, op. cit.
99 House of Lords, Hansard Volume 458 - Hong Kong: Future, December 10, 1984.
100 MacLehose, Interview by S. Yu, op. cit.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Andrew C. K. Yu
Andrew Yu is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. He is currently researching Scottish Highland bagpiping culture and Scottish diasporas in former British colonies in the Far East at the Department of Celtic and Scottish Studies, the University of Edinburgh. Email: [email protected]