With 414 days to go before the change of sovereignty in July 1997, hundreds of foreign journalists are pouring into the colony to cover the gripping event.
Speaking at a hearing of the United Nations' committee on economic, social and cultural rights in November 1994, the member from Spain said she was fascinated by the Hong Kong question, which, she said, was 'as captivating as a novel'.
There is no doubt that the decision to deliver six million people to Chinese communist rule is unprecedented in human history. It is particularly disturbing because many of these people have fled communism. They know what the Chinese regime is capable of and so it is not fear of the unknown.
Several years ago, people from all over the world rejoiced when the Berlin Wall was brought down. Our hearts went out to the people in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union for emerging from communism.
Sadly, what will happen in Hong Kong next year is just the opposite, and that is why 1997 is such a compelling story.
Some people credit Governor Chris Patten for putting Hong Kong on the international map. This is not strictly true. Mr Patten is undoubtedly a charismatic and effective politician. But it is his being the target for incessant and violent attacks by the Chinese Government which has catapulted him to international political stardom.
As the Sino-British row escalates, Hong Kong is pushed on to the international stage. It is said that more than 500 foreign journalists went to Taiwan to cover the presidential election in March. I don't know how many covered the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing on June 4, 1989. According to the Hong Kong Government, as many as 6,000 foreign journalists are expected to be here next year to cover the take-over. Uncharacteristically, Beijing agrees with the Hong Kong Government's estimate.