The Gate to China

Michael Sheridan read history at Jesus College, Cambridge, and became a foreign correspondent in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. He first reported from Hong Kong and China in June 1989 and later served as Far East correspondent for The Sunday Times (London) for twenty years, covering the rise of China, the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 and the city's struggle for democracy.

Earlier he worked for Reuters, ITN and The Independent, reporting on war in the Middle East, global diplomacy and European politics, with postings in Rome, Beirut and Jerusalem.

His work has also appeared in the Spectator, Tablet, Vanity Fair and the Hong Kong Economic Journal.

He is author of a 1994 book Romans: Their Lives and Times.

'You can understand a lot about China's relations with the rest of the world ... by looking at how the leadership in Beijing has dealt with Hong Kong ...The Gate to China meticulously details why this is so ... in this very readable book Sheridan
takes the reader through the tortuous Sino-British negotiations that led to the handover ... impressive ... fascinating'
Sunday Times

'Highly readable ... Sheridan covers the Sino-British negotiations over Hong Kong's future in engaging detail...he adds colour to existing accounts ... provides a welcome contrast to many of the existing histories of the period'
Literary Review

'An authoritative history of Hong Kong and its relations with the UK and China ... even-handed ... Analyses with a wealth of documentary evidence the motivations of Chinese leaders in seeking to reverse historical humiliation'
Financial Times

'Sheridan's gripping and richly researched history sheds a highly critical light on those British officials of the Thatcher era who seemed to favour Beijing's autocracy over the promotion of liberal values and movingly recounts the brief hopes of Hong Kong's reformers whose democratic enlightenment has turned to darkness'
Rana Mitter, BBC History Magazine

'Authoritative ... Hong Kong's story is full of drama, politics and personalities and Sheridan tells it well, drawing from a wide variety of Chinese and British sources'
Observer

'Sheridan's account testifies to the Western dreams about China and to the ways they are shattered ... The Gate to China details the regime's use of its cyber-capabilities to monitor dissent, block communications and even interfere with efforts to measure public sentiment in Hong Kong'
Washington Post

'A delightful piece of writing and research'
Jasper Becker

'Deeply researched and beautifully written ... Essential reading for anyone interested in the saga of a city whose fate has dominated the headlines'
Mike Chinoy