Scathing remarks against the Chinese government by Britain's Prince Charles made during the 1997 handover of Hong Kong were revealed in a British newspaper yesterday.
In his journal of the handover, at which he represented Queen Elizabeth II, Charles allegedly described Chinese diplomats as "appalling old waxworks", the Mail on Sunday reported.
The remarks attributed to Charles could cause a diplomatic row with China just three days after Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) completed a short state visit to Britain.
Charles' Clarence House office are "seriously considering taking legal proceedings relating to the issue," a spokesman said, believing the material was accessed unlawfully.
The Mail on Sunday said the text came into its possession "entirely legitimately."
The prince allegedly described his horror at the "awful Soviet-style display" as Chinese troops "goose step" to "haul down the Union Jack and raise the Chinese flag" as part of a "ridiculous rigmarole."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair also came in for criticism.
The 3,000-word journal, entitled The Handover of Hong Kong -- or `The Great Chinese Takeaway' was circulated to a clutch of relatives, friends, political contacts and courtiers.
The Mail on Sunday called it a "brilliantly witty but acerbic memoir."
Charles writes a detailed account in his own hand after returning from foreign trips, which were freely circulated in his office during the 1990s.
Clarence House acknowledged the Hong Kong journal's authenticity and accepted its importance and historical interest, the Mail on Sunday said.
The prince allegedly wrote: "After my speech, the president [Jiang Zemin (
"He then gave a kind of `propaganda' speech which was loudly cheered by the bussed-in party faithful at the suitable moment in the text."
He said the Chinese brought in a wind turbine to ensure that their newly-hoisted flags would "flutter enticingly," it continued.
Charles worried that the Chinese army might intimidate local residents.
"One can only hope they are confined to barracks in Hong Kong," he allegedly wrote.
Charles revealed his apparent frustration at the bureaucratic Chinese regime and his fear that the rule of law would be abandoned in the former colony.
He also allegedly attacked the then new Prime Minister Blair for his use of advisers.
"They then take decisions based on market research or focus groups, or the papers produced by political advisers, or civil servants, none of whom will have ever experienced what it is they are taking decisions about," he allegedly wrote.
There was some sympathy for Blair, who spent 14 hours each on the flight to the Far East, in Hong Kong, then on the plane home.
He was also witty about his own flight arrangements.
Initially he was puzzled "as to why the seat seemed so uncomfortable" before discovering that he had been put in club class while political dignitaries had been seated in first class.
"Such is the end of Empire," he mused.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique