Review: Man in a Hurry : Murray MacLehose and Colonial Autonomy in Hong Kong, by Ray Yep

In his book Man in a Hurry, Ray Yep offers a deeply researched and analytically sharp reassessment of British colonial governance in Hong Kong during the governorship of Sir Murray MacLehose (1971–1982), a pivotal period in Hong Kong’s political development. Far from offering a straightforward biography, Yep constructs a political history that frames MacLehose’s career as emblematic of the balancing act inherent in late-stage British colonialism—where local demands, imperial interests, and global forces collided. The book’s strength lies in its episode-based structure, which allows Yep to explore the broader mechanisms of colonial governance through specific, high-stakes moments. These include the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the expansion of social welfare after the 1967 riots, the handling of the Vietnamese refugee crisis, and negotiations over land leases in the New Territories leading up to the 1997 Handover. Each case illustrates what Yep calls the “positive” and “negative”...