New Books in History Ray Yep, "Man in a Hurry: Murray MacLehose and Colonial Autonomy in Hong Kong" (Hong Kong UP, 2024)
Feb 20, 2026
Ray Yep, research director at the Hong Kong History Centre and author of a new study on Murray MacLehose, examines Hong Kong’s 1970s politics and colonial bargaining. He unpacks MacLehose’s reforms, anti-corruption drive, the Vietnamese refugee diplomacy, and covert negotiations with London. The conversation highlights informal leverage, media image, and archival revelations about contested autonomy.
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Experience Built Bargaining Power
- MacLehose's prior roles gave him knowledge and rapport with London colleagues.
- That experience helped him exploit levers of influence and build trust to push Hong Kong's agenda.
When The Metropole Chooses To Intervene
- London intervened when costs of inaction, urgency, or political embarrassment mattered.
- Yep identifies 'cost of inaction' and 'urgency/necessity' as core variables shaping autonomy.
Use Information And Opinion As Leverage
- Withhold and frame information tactically to influence metropolitan decisions.
- Mobilize compliant local elites and measured public opinion to strengthen your bargaining case.
