8-4 Bravo! Hongkong!

Eight: Craving For Grandiose
4: Bravo, Hongkong!



In 1984, an agreement arranging the return of Hongkong to mainland China in 1997, was signed between British Prime Minister Magaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang. Both leaders promised to attend the Hongkong return ceremony. In 1997, Zhao requested to attend the ceremony in Hongkong. Jiang exploded: “Absurd!” pounding his fist on the table. He ordered Luo Gan to step up the security at Zhao’s residence to keep him firmly under house arrest.
The narrow-minded Jiang Zemin, who delighted in flattery, couldn’t stand the thought of letting Zhao take credit.

Therefore, he disallowed the public from knowing the fact.
In the CCP’s propaganda campaign afterward, Zhao was either blurred or cut out of photos that bore witness of the historical moment. Jiang ordered the Ministry of Propaganda, to shift the public attention towards the hand-over of Hongkong.
The ceremony marking Hongkong’s return was to be the focus of the world’s at