I've arrived in Hong Kong for a short layover before catchng my flight to Surabaya in Indonesia. This is a very comfortable airport at which to connect, having only been open for twelve years. And as a first class passenger with Cathay Pacific, I am able to spend time in a private cabana with large bathtub, power shower and deckchair aside a small, pebbled pond. So I have no complaints.
Coming to Hong Kong always highlights for me the speed with which time travels. I have vivid memories of my first visit to this vibrant place in 1980, with your grandmother Veronica, only weeks before we were married. That's nearly 30 years ago now. And I recall then how much discussion there was about the looming end of British rule, which was then due to occur 17 years on, in 1997. Hong Kong had been a British Crown colony since the mid-eighteen hundreds. It was pretty much the last bastion of the British Empire.
It's hard to imagine that at the time of my birth, Britain still controlled around a third of the world. But the Second World War took its toll on the nation's resources and times were changing. The concept of empire had become anachronistic, and it was certainly right for countries to be given the right to self rule.
Today, thirty years after your grandfather first visited this place, Hong Kong is a part of the People's Republic of China. By the time you, my darling Yael, are my age, this country's economy will surely have significantly exceeded that of the USA. Not only have we seen the end of Britain's dominance of the world, but I am sure we are seeing the start of America's decline as a superpower as well.
Grandpa Jonathan
Hong Kong, China
